300 criminal cases of a former minister.
Investigators combined more than 300 criminal cases related to Finico's financial pyramid into one procedure. One of the accused was the former head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communication [now the Ministry of Digital Development - approx. Ridovka] Nikolai Nikiforov. The main case was opened back in July 2021, and in September 2026 the former minister was accused of creating and financing a criminal community, leading it and especially of large-scale fraud, according to the materials of the case, writes TASS.
According to the researchers, Nikiforov was one of the creators of Finiko. Investors were promised high profits, but the organizers did not make any real investments, the Ministry of the Interior reported. About 8 thousand people were recognized as victims in the case, and the damage is estimated at about 5 billion ₽. In September, Nikiforov was arrested in absentia, and later the Moscow City Court confirmed this decision. The official headed the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communication from 2012 to 2018. He is apparently now in the UAE.