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Three Russians Charged by the U.S. for Alleged Fraudulent Cryptocurrency Trading, 2026/04/01 11:55:35
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged three Russian nationals, along with seven individuals associated with cryptocurrency firms Gotbit, Vortex, Antier, and Contrarian. According to the investigation, they were involved in a large-scale scheme of fictitious trading aimed at artificially inflating prices and trading volumes of tokens.
Among those accused are Vortex CEO Gleb Gora, CFO Sergey Ryzhkov, and Gotbit manager Yan Safronov. Gora was apprehended in Singapore and extradited to the United States. There is no official information regarding the status of the other individuals involved. Reports also indicate the detention of several Indian nationals. Two of the accused have already admitted guilt.
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The investigation believes that the participants in the scheme created artificial trading activity by executing fictitious transactions between linked accounts. This generated the illusion of high demand and attracted genuine investors. Following the price increases, the accused sold their assets for profit, which subsequently led to a sharp decline in prices and losses for other market participants.
The inquiry was conducted with the involvement of the FBI and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Over $1 million in cryptocurrency has already been seized in connection with the case.
The companies involved in the case provided liquidity management, market-making, and algorithmic trading services for cryptocurrency projects.
Earlier, in October 2024, Gotbit founder Alexey Andryunin was arrested in Portugal and later extradited to the United States. In the summer of 2025, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for manipulating cryptocurrency market prices, after which he was extradited from the U.S.
