Blum Capital Partners Co-Founder and former Binance Russia head Vladimir Smerkis Arrested in Moscow on Fraud Charges

BlockBeats News, May 19th. According to TheBlock, Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the Telegram mini-app Blum (formerly Binance's Russia and CIS Regional Manager), was arrested in Moscow on fraud charges. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow has accused him of "large-scale fraud," although the specific amount involved has not been disclosed. The market speculates that this may be related to his previous involvement with The Token Fund and the Tokenbox project, which raised millions of dollars before disappearing.

The official X account of Blum has issued an emergency statement announcing that Smerkis has resigned from his CMO position, no longer participating in project development or co-founder affairs. The statement emphasized that team operations are unaffected, and the airdrop plan will proceed as scheduled in Q2 2025. Blum was previously supported by Binance Labs' "Most Valuable Builder" accelerator.