Share this article
Leader of Suspected Russian Ponzi Scheme Is Arrested in UAE: Report
Edvard Sabirov's arrest leaves just one of the four known leaders of the Finiko fund at large.
Updated Dec 8, 2022, 5:12 p.m. Published Dec 8, 2022, 4:30 p.m.
Interpol arrested Edvard Sabirov, one of the top figures in the Finiko investment fund that is said to have swindled about $95 million from investors in Russia and was identified by the central bank as having "signs of a Ponzi scheme,” RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday.
Sabirov was arrested in the United Arab Emirates. Russia’s general prosecutor’s office has already requested his extradition to face criminal charges for fraud, according to the report. He had been on the wanted list since Nov. 12, and was apprehended Nov. 30. Earlier in the month, co-founder Zygmunt Zygmuntovich was also arrested in the UAE, and Russia is pursuing his extradition as well, according to RIA Novosti.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Finiko was popular in Russia in 2020-2021, marketing itself as a crypto investment fund. The company, which had been conducting public events and openly advertising itself, operated as a multilevel marketing scheme, offering rewards for bringing in new users and targeting mostly women from 30 to 50 years old, according to the Russian investigative outlet The Bell. It could have gotten away with as much as $95 million of investors’ money, The Bell said.
In summer 2021, Finiko froze bitcoin withdrawals on its website, allowing users to withdraw only the fund's native token, FNK, which immediately plunged in price by 97%. According to Crystal Blockchain, at the time of the crash Finiko’s crypto wallets contained 1.8 million USDC, 111.3 million USDT and 888 ETH, as well as 110 million FNK tokens.
Sabirov's arrest leaves just one of Finiko's known leaders at large, Marat Sabirov, who is not related to Edvard. Kirill Doronin was arrested in Russia in July, despite obtaining Turkish citizenship under the name Onur Namik.
Russian serial crypto entrepreneur Sergey Mendeleev told CoinDesk last year that in January 2021, Finiko has been cashing out massive amounts of crypto, sending Moscow's over-the-counter crypto market into a frenzy.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Senate confirms Trump crypto-friendly nominees to take over CFTC, FDIC
In a package of confirmations, the U.S. Senate approved Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to run the FDIC, both with major potential reach into crypto.
What to know:
- The U.S. Senate moved to confirm a massive package of President Donald Trump's nominees on Thursday, including two officials with important regulator roles over the crypto sector.
- The chamber approved the confirmations of Mike Selig to run the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Travis Hill to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
- Selig will have a leading role as a crypto watchdog, replacing Acting Chairman Caroline Pham, who has been pushing an aggressive crypto policy agenda in the absence of a permanent agency chief.
Top Stories
