BitRiver Founder Detained in Russia on Tax Evasion Charges

A Moscow court placed him under house arrest as investigators probe allegations that he concealed assets to avoid taxes. Meanwhile, in the US, a Delaware judge allowed a shareholder lawsuit accusing Coinbase directors, including CEO Brian Armstrong and board member Marc Andreessen, of insider trading to proceed, despite an internal review that cleared the executives. 

Bitcoin Mining Executive Detained

The founder and chief executive of Russian Bitcoin mining firm BitRiver, Igor Runets, has reportedly been detained by Russian authorities and charged with multiple counts of tax evasion. This is according to local media reports published over the weekend. 

Russian outlets RBK and Kommersant reported on Sunday that Runets was detained on Friday and is facing three separate charges related to the alleged concealment of assets in order to evade taxes. Court documents referred to by the reports indicate that the case is being handled by the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow, which formally charged Runets on Saturday. 

The court ordered that he be placed under house arrest the same day, which limits his movement while the investigation proceeds. According to the filings, Runets’ legal team has a narrow window to appeal the ruling before it becomes fully enforceable on Wednesday. If the appeal is unsuccessful, or if no appeal is filed, Runets will remain under house arrest for the duration of the legal proceedings.

BitRiver was founded in 2017, and grew into one of the largest players in Russia’s Bitcoin mining sector. The company operates large-scale data centers across Siberia by leveraging the region’s cold climate and relatively cheap electricity to provide crypto mining services both for its own operations and for third-party clients.

Igor Runets

Runets’ personal fortune has attracted some attention over the past few years. In late 2024, Bloomberg estimated his net worth at approximately $230 million, largely derived from his involvement in the crypto mining industry. However, the legal case comes during mounting challenges for BitRiver itself. The company has faced sustained pressure since being sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in mid-2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Those sanctions had tangible downstream effects on BitRiver’s business. In May of 2023, Japanese financial conglomerate SBI exited its Bitcoin mining arrangement with BitRiver as part of its withdrawal from Russia. According to Kommersant, BitRiver later implemented cost-cutting measures toward the end of 2024, scaled back parts of its operations, and experienced delays in salary payments to employees. 

The company’s difficulties reportedly deepened in early 2025, when it was hit with two lawsuits from the regional electricity provider Infrastructure of Siberia, which alleged it paid BitRiver for equipment that was never delivered.

Coinbase Insider Trading Lawsuit Cleared to Proceed

Other crypto execs are also facing legal troubles. A Delaware judge ruled that a shareholder lawsuit accusing several Coinbase directors of insider trading can move forward. The decision comes despite an internal investigation that previously cleared the executives of wrongdoing and recommended that the case be dismissed.

The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by a Coinbase shareholder and names several senior figures at the company, including chief executive Brian Armstrong and board member Marc Andreessen. It alleges that the directors used material nonpublic information to avoid more than $1 billion in potential losses by selling shares during Coinbase’s direct listing. According to the complaint, company insiders collectively sold more than $2.9 billion worth of stock, with Armstrong personally selling roughly $291.8 million.

The shares sold by Coinbase directors after listing

On Friday, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick denied a motion to dismiss the case after a 10-month investigation by a special litigation committee that was established by Coinbase. While the judge acknowledged that the committee’s findings offered a strong defense for the directors, she ruled that concerns about the independence of one committee member were sufficient to allow the lawsuit to proceed. 

At the center of the case is Coinbase’s decision to go public through a direct listing rather than a traditional initial public offering. Unlike an IPO, the direct listing did not impose a lockup period, which typically restricts insiders from selling shares for several months after a public debut. As a result, existing shareholders were free to sell immediately, and no new shares were issued that might have diluted ownership. The plaintiff argues that this structure allowed insiders to exit positions at inflated valuations before the stock later declined.

Marc Andreessen, who joined Coinbase’s board in 2020, is accused of selling approximately $118.7 million worth of Coinbase shares through his venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz. The lawsuit claims that the directors were aware the company’s valuation was unsustainable and sold stock to shield themselves from subsequent losses. 

Coinbase and the named executives consistently denied the allegations by arguing there is no evidence they possessed or acted on confidential information. The special litigation committee also concluded that the share sales were limited in scope and largely intended to provide liquidity for the direct listing. It also found that Coinbase’s stock performance closely tracked movements in Bitcoin, undermining claims that the sales were motivated by insider knowledge. 

However, the shareholder challenged the committee’s independence, due to prior business relationships between committee member Gokul Rajaram and Andreessen’s firm. Judge McCormick agreed that those ties raised legitimate questions.