The co-founder of Blum, a popular Telegram Mini App that combines a crypto exchange with point-earning games, has been detained in Russia on accusations of large-scale fraud, according to local media reports.
Vladimir Smerkis, who previously worked as the general manager for Binance's operations in Russia and the CIS region, was arrested on Friday Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow. Police told TASS Smerkis was arrested "...as part of a criminal case on fraud on an especially large scale."
Some reports suggest the arrest could be related to prior projects Smerkis led, including The Token Fund and Tokenbox, which raised millions but have since faded into obscurity.
Following the arrest, Blum was quick to put distance between the project and Smerkis. Blum's X account announced on Saturday that Smerkis "...has stepped down from his role as CMO and is no longer involved in the development of the project or in any co-founder capacity."