Headline: Эдварда Сабирова экстрадировали из ОАЭ в Россию для привлечения к ответственности за финансовые преступления Translation: Edward Sabirov extradited from the UAE to Russia to face charges for financial crimes.

The UAE organized the transfer of Edward Sabirov, co-founder of the «Finiko» pyramid scheme, to Russia in order to hold him accountable for criminal offenses. This was reported by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

He faces charges under Part 1 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (creation of a criminal community), as well as under Part 4 of Article 159 (fraud committed by an organized group on a particularly large scale).

«From September 2018 to July 2021, Sabirov, along with his accomplices, acted within a criminal community, disseminating deliberately false information about the guarantees of returning funds invested in the online project ‘Finiko’ and the feasibility of obtaining excessive profits, thereby embezzling over 179 million rubles from investors,» the release states.

The accused went into hiding from law enforcement in December 2021 and was later placed on an international wanted list.

Remaining at large are the extradited man’s brother, Marat Sabirov, and another organizer of the scheme, Zygmunt Zygmuntovich.

The «Finiko» scheme operated in Russia, Kazakhstan, and several other CIS republics from 2019 to 2021. It encouraged clients to invest in «high-yield investment schemes» related to real estate and cryptocurrency.

Independent estimates suggest that the total damage caused by the scammers exceeds $4 billion, affecting at least 850,000 individuals.

It is worth noting that since 2021, one of the pyramid’s founders, Kirill Doronin, has been in custody.

In May 2024, a Russian court found Lilya Nurieva, a privileged participant in «Finiko,» guilty of fraud and participation in a criminal community, sentencing her to 4.5 years in prison.