Valeria Fedyakina, Russia’s self-proclaimed “Queen of Crypto,” has found herself behind bars in a notorious gulag after being accused of scamming investors out of £17 million under the guise of funding the Ukrainian army. The glamorous 24-year-old influencer, who flaunted her wealth and crypto expertise online under the alias “Bitmama,” allegedly built her fortune in just two months through a fraudulent pyramid scheme.
Fedyakina, pregnant at the time of her arrest, reportedly convinced investors to transfer money into a Dubai crypto scheme, promising massive returns. However, victims claim that their money vanished, and Russian authorities allege that it was funneled to Ukraine’s military. Her arrest followed an attempt to flee to the UAE, but Russian authorities swiftly tracked her down.
Despite her defense team’s denial of wrongdoing and her supposed support for Putin’s regime, Fedyakina faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of orchestrating the scam. After giving birth to a daughter in a special maternity hospital, Fedyakina was returned to detention, with her trial looming next month.
