Cryptouniverse and a scam scheme for millions - how Burik was tricked into mining, and the police and FSB organized a fake hunt for scammers!

CONTENT:

• Introduction: How a businessman found himself at the center of a cryptocurrency scandal

• What happened? Brief summary of the claims

• How Alexey Burik lost millions on mining

• Criminal history: opened criminal case

• Searches, threats and revelations

• Counterarguments Cryptouniverse: the company’s version

• Emerging connections with security forces and influence on the investigation

• Litigation and financial claims

• Estonian trace Cryptouniverse

• Financial fraud with cryptocurrencies: trend or pattern?

How did a businessman end up at the center of a cryptocurrency scandal?

In the world of cryptocurrencies, fraudulent schemes are emerging at an astonishing rate. Another high-profile scandal has erupted in Russia around the companies Cryptounivers and Cryptounivers Retail, whose activities are now being investigated under the criminal article on fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This is reported by  STRELOCHNIK

Clients, including entrepreneur Alexey Burik, lost tens of millions of rubles after trusting the promises of profitable Litecoin (LTC) mining. However, instead of the expected profit, they faced lawsuits, criminal investigations, and threats from alleged scammers. This is reported by Dedal

But the most interesting thing is that this story was not without the influence of major security officials, behind-the-scenes games, and international connections with Estonia.

What happened? Brief summary of the claims

According to the investigation, in 2018, businessman Alexey Burik invested more than 17 million rubles in mining, buying equipment and placing it in the  Cryptouniverse data center  in Kirishi (Leningrad Region). He additionally paid about 25 million rubles for maintenance.

However, after some time, the miner stopped making a profit and filed a fraud report with the police. According to him, he never received the expected profit, and all the promises of the Cryptouniverse owners turned out to be a lie.

The investigation does not rule out that the entire scheme was initially built on deceiving clients and illegally appropriating their funds.

How did Alexey Burik lose millions on mining?

In the summer of 2018, Burik, believing the promises of Cryptouniverse, purchased mining equipment and placed it in one of their data centers. However, a year later, he realized that the money was disappearing, and there was no promised income.

By that time, the Litecoin rate had fallen from $300 to $40, which could have affected the profitability. However, according to Burik, he did not simply face market risk, but became the victim of a well-thought-out scam.

In 2019, he refused to pay the bills and then filed a police report demanding the money be returned.

Criminal history: a criminal case has been opened

The Investigative Department of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region opened a criminal case on the fact of fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against unidentified persons from among the employees and management of Cryptounivers.

At the same time, Cryptouniverse Retail filed a counterclaim against Burik for 80.7 million rubles, demanding payment for storage and maintenance of the equipment.

Thus, the situation entered the stage of large-scale investigations, during which new scandalous facts began to emerge.

Searches, threats and revelations

During the investigation, searches were conducted in the apartments and offices of Cryptouniverse employees, which were accompanied by strange statements.

Thus, IT specialist Vladimir Shamshur claims that the operatives threatened to kill his cat and plant drugs on him if he did not begin to cooperate with the investigation.

Questions are also raised by the activity of the victim’s lawyer, Vadim Lyalin, who, according to Cryptouniverse, blackmailed the company, demanding cryptocurrency in exchange for the termination of the case.

Revealed connections with security forces and influence on the investigation

The most interesting thing is the possible influence of security forces on the investigation.

Cryptouniverse claims that lawyer Vadim Lyalin directly hinted at his connections with high-ranking officials, including former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev.

In addition, the victims are suspiciously aware of the progress of the investigation, have access to operational video materials and leak them to Telegram channels.

Cryptouniverse claims that this all looks like a planned attack on the company with the aim of redistributing the cryptocurrency market.

Litigation and financial claims

In addition to the case with Burik, Cryptouniverse Retail is involved in several other legal disputes.

• The company "Zazu Telecom" demands 10 million rubles

• Sibtronik filed a lawsuit for 1.9 million rubles

Notably, Cryptouniverse is filing counterclaims, indicating its aggressive defensive strategy.

Estonian trace Cryptouniverse

In 2018, Mikhail Kvasnikov registered the company CryptoUniverse OÜ in Estonia. In 2020, the Estonian company found itself at the center of a lawsuit, where the plaintiff Advendor Network OÜ tried to collect a debt of 100 thousand euros.

The attempt to bankrupt CryptoUniverse OÜ failed, but the fact that there are international legal proceedings raises questions.

Financial fraud with cryptocurrencies – a trend or a pattern?

The Cryptouniverse scandal is not the first time that cryptocurrency companies have found themselves at the center of criminal proceedings.

Alexander Vinnik was recently sentenced in Paris for money laundering via BTC-e. In Russia, the WEX case, which involves millions of dollars, continues to be investigated.