[Former Binance Russia Head Vladimir Smerkis Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Fraud] According to Bits.media, the Presnensky District Court in Moscow has sentenced Vladimir Smerkis, the former head of Binance Russia and co-founder of the Blum crypto platform, to five years in prison. The court found him guilty of "large-scale fraud" under Article 159, Part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the prosecution, in June 2024, trader and crypto blogger Oleg Polunin requested Smerkis' assistance in driving traffic to his social media. Smerkis promised to bring approximately 2 million new users but, after receiving over 8.8 million rubles, failed to fulfill his obligations and misappropriated the funds for personal use. The verdict has not yet taken effect and can be appealed. Smerkis was arrested a year ago.