{"id":27479,"date":"2025-05-19T13:31:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=27479"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:31:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:31:47","slug":"15m-gone-telegram-crypto-projects-co-founder-arrested-for-alleged-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=27479","title":{"rendered":"$15M Gone? Telegram Crypto Project\u2019s Co-Founder Arrested For Alleged Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A co\u2011founder of Blum, a crypto project built into Telegram Mini\u202fApps, was arrested this week in Moscow on fraud charges. Vladimir Smerkis<\/a>, who once ran Binance\u2019s operations in Russia, now faces an investigation under Article\u202f159 of the Russian Criminal Code. His detention has sent shockwaves through the Telegram\u2011based platform\u2019s community.<\/p>\n

Court Grants Custody Request<\/h2>\n

According to TASS<\/a>, on May\u202f18 the Zamoskvoretsky District Court approved a request to keep Smerkis in custody. He\u2019s suspected of \u201clarge\u2011scale\u201d fraud, which under Article\u202f159 carries a sentence from 2 to 12 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Detention at this early stage usually means investigators believe they have firm evidence, though formal charges haven\u2019t been made public.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Scrutiny Of Past Ventures<\/h2>\n

Based on reports from Mash, the probe reaches back to two crypto firms Smerkis co\u2011founded in 2017: The Token Fund and Tokenbox. Investors in those ventures reportedly lost roughly $15\u202fmillion<\/a> combined.<\/p>\n

Now, authorities are revisiting those losses to see if they tie into this case. His background running Binance in Russia has only added to the attention on his activities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Token Airdrop On Hold<\/p>\n

Blum\u2019s roadmap had promised a BLUM token listing<\/a> in the third quarter. Users earn points in its Drop Game\u2014tapping falling snowflakes on their phone screens\u2014and convert them to tokens during a token generation event.<\/p>\n

All of that happens inside Telegram Mini\u202fApps, where trading, rewards and airdrops are integrated. After the May\u202f18 news, many in the community are now unsure the airdrop will happen on schedule.<\/p>\n

Team Vows Continuity<\/p>\n

According to a statement on X, Blum confirmed Smerkis has resigned as chief marketing officer and will have no further role. The team says daily operations will carry on as usual and that focus remains on delivering the token event. Still, details on who now oversees marketing and airdrop logistics are scarce, leaving some users uneasy.<\/p>\n

\n

We would like to inform our community that Vladimir 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.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Blum (@blumcrypto) May 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Looking Ahead<\/p>\n

The code behind the Telegram Mini\u202fApp may be solid\u2014but in crypto, trust in people matters just as much. How Blum handles transparency and governance now will determine if it recovers its momentum or becomes a cautionary tale for other Telegram\u2011based projects.<\/p>\n

Featured image from TechNext, chart from TradingView<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A co\u2011founder of Blum, a crypto project built into Telegram Mini\u202fApps, was arrested this week in Moscow on fraud charges. Vladimir Smerkis, who once ran Binance\u2019s operations in Russia, now faces an investigation under Article\u202f159 of the Russian Criminal Code. His detention has sent shockwaves through the Telegram\u2011based platform\u2019s community. Court Grants Custody Request According […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-27479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27479\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}