Moscow Court Rejects Appeal from “Bitmama”, 2026/02/17 15:48:54

The Moscow City Court has rejected the appeal filed by blogger Valeria Fedyakina, known by her alias “BitMama,” regarding the preventive measure in her fraud case. The woman will remain in custody.

During the appeal hearing, the convicted individual’s lawyer reminded that in December 2023, Fedyakina gave birth to a child in the hospital of the “Pechatniki” detention center.

“She has been in custody for a very long time, since September 2023. She is being held in pre-trial detention conditions along with her daughter, who is already over two years old. Therefore, we have submitted a request to change the preventive measure to house arrest until the appeal against the verdict is resolved,” the attorney stated.

The defense was prepared to offer Fedyakina her apartment for the duration of the house arrest and promised to ensure that she could work “while adhering to all restrictions.” However, the court dismissed the lawyer’s arguments and scheduled the appeal hearing regarding the verdict for “BitMama” on March 26.

According to the investigation, Fedyakina was offering investors opportunities to invest in cryptocurrencies with promises of high returns but misappropriated those funds. The damage caused by the convicted individual has been assessed at 2.2 billion rubles. A criminal case against the Russian national was initiated following a complaint from her business partner Galik Gulakyan, who reported personal damages amounting to 6 billion rubles and was recognized as a victim.

Previously, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow found Valeria Fedyakina guilty of large-scale fraud and sentenced her to seven years in a general regime penal colony.