- The Zamoskvoretsky District Court approved holding Smerkis in custody during the investigation.
- Smerkis is linked to investor losses related to The Token Fund and Tokenbox, totaling about $15 million.
- Blum confirmed that Smerkis resigned from his role and has no further involvement with the project.
- Smerkis’ arrest has led to uncertainty within the Blum community about the planned BLUM token airdrop.
Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the Telegram-based crypto project Blum, was arrested in Moscow on charges of large-scale fraud. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court has approved a request to keep Smerkis in custody while investigations continue, according to Russian state-owned news outlet TASS.
Investigators suspect Smerkis of violating Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers fraud and carries a potential prison term of two to twelve years. It remains unclear whether formal charges have been filed.
Russian media source Mash reports that the fraud allegations are connected to Smerkis’s previous ventures, The Token Fund and Tokenbox, both founded in 2017. Reports state that investors lost a combined $15 million in these projects.
The Blum team issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying that Smerkis has resigned as chief marketing officer and is no longer associated with Blum in any capacity. The company assured users that its team remains committed and that normal operations will continue.
Blum is a crypto project that integrates a decentralized exchange with Telegram Mini Apps, allowing users to trade cryptocurrencies, earn points, and participate in token airdrops. Community concerns have risen about whether the anticipated BLUM token airdrop will happen as planned since Smerkis’s arrest. In April, Blum mentioned that the BLUM token could be listed in the third quarter of this year. Users can earn points through a mobile game and later convert these into tokens at the project’s token generation event.
Some community members have asked for clarification. One user on X requested more information about the airdrop plan, while another, crypto influencer RK Gupta, commented “No airdrop. No updates. Just silence. Was it all for nothing?”
Blum states that it is not connected with The Token Fund or Tokenbox, and that the company’s daily activities are moving forward as usual.
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