Russia Blocks More Than 21,000 Illegal Finance Websites
Authorities say more than 7,000 financial pyramid schemes were identified over the past year.
The Bank of Russia has stepped up its fight against online financial fraud. In 2025, the regulator identified more than 7,000 entities showing signs of pyramid schemes or pseudo-brokerage operations. Most lured victims with promises of “profitable investments,” only for people to lose their savings.
One Scheme, 300 Variations
According to the Bank of Russia, the same fraudulent scheme was often relaunched up to 300 times under different names. Over the course of 2025, the regulator identified more than 4,600 cryptocurrency wallets used to collect funds from victims. The structure allowed scammers to remain anonymous. So-called black lenders also expanded beyond the internet, offering loans secured by valuable property and defrauding borrowers offline.
The Bank of Russia initiated the blocking of 21,500 online resources linked to illegal financial activity. The Federal Antimonopoly Service and law enforcement agencies are involved in shutting down unlawful operations.
Over the year, authorities opened 440 administrative cases and took more than 650 additional enforcement actions.
