Finiko
Summary
Finiko was a Russia-based cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that operated from late 2019 until its collapse in July 2021. Founded by Kirill Doronin and several associates in Kazan, Russia, the scheme accepted Bitcoin and Tether from investors while promising monthly returns of up to 30 percent, and issued a proprietary FNK token. According to Chainalysis, Finiko received over $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin across more than 800,000 deposits during its 19-month operation, netting an estimated $1.1 billion from victims; Russian authorities officially recorded over 7,700 victims and losses exceeding 5 billion rubles. Doronin was arrested in July 2021, several co-founders were subsequently apprehended through Interpol cooperation with the UAE, and the scheme was identified by U.S. Treasury's FinCEN as one of the top counterparties of sanctioned exchange Bitzlato.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 3 more
Timeline(15 events)
2019-12-01
Finiko launched operations in Kazan, Russia, accepting Bitcoin and Tether from investors with promises of up to 30 percent monthly returns.
Chainalysis / Quadriga Initiative2020-12-01
Finiko launched its proprietary FNK token, which appeared on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Moscow Times2020-12-01
Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Finiko founders.
Quadriga Initiative case study2021-02-01
The Bank of Russia formally designated Finiko as exhibiting signs of a financial pyramid and issued a public warning.
CoinDesk / Quadriga Initiative2021-06-01
Finiko halted Bitcoin withdrawals, forcing users to redeem only FNK tokens. FNK subsequently lost approximately 97 percent of its value within three weeks.
CoinDesk2021-07-01
Finiko collapsed after blocking all customer withdrawals. Kirill Doronin was arrested in Kazan shortly thereafter on large-scale fraud charges.
CoinDesk / The Moscow Times2021-09-01
Chainalysis published findings that Finiko received over $1.5 billion in Bitcoin across more than 800,000 deposits during its operation.
Chainalysis Eastern Europe Report2021-09-01
Vice president Ilgiz Shakirov was detained in Tatarstan. Russian courts confirmed arrest warrants for three co-founders: Zygmunt Zygmuntovich, Marat Sabirov, and Edvard Sabirov.
CoinDesk / Quadriga Initiative2021-10-01
Two high-ranking female promoters, Lilia Nurieva and Dina Gabdullina, were arrested in Russia on fraud charges.
Bitcoin Insider2021-11-01
Alleged Finiko fugitives suspected of moving approximately 750 BTC (roughly $48 million at the time) from Finiko wallets in three transactions, routing funds through Huobi.
CryptoNews2022-11-17
Zygmunt Zygmuntovich was arrested in the UAE by Interpol. Russia's general prosecutor's office requested his extradition.
CoinFi / VOI Technology2022-11-30
Edvard Sabirov was apprehended in the UAE by Interpol after being added to the wanted list on November 12, 2022.
CoinDesk2023-01-18
FinCEN designated Bitzlato as a Primary Money Laundering Concern, identifying Finiko as one of Bitzlato's top three Bitcoin counterparties between 2018 and 2022.
FinCEN.gov2024-04-27
The General Prosecutor's Office approved the indictment of Kirill Doronin and nine co-defendants; the case was transferred to the Vakhitovsky Court in Kazan for trial.
BeInCrypto2024-05-17
Lilia Nurieva, former head of networks at Finiko, was sentenced to three years in prison by the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan following a plea agreement.
BeInCryptoDecision Log
- hash: BNnfnY9FsnSHHEFQeZDcFRfmJoMcSdPdspjyZkN1qSJC
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/31/2026, 6:20:40 PM
last updated: 5/31/2026, 6:20:45 PM
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