The expected complexity of modern judicial realities – cases in which the word “cryptocurrency” appears (“bitcoin”, “litecoin”, “mining”) logically come under close scrutiny.
The Ministry of Finance has a clear direction for regulating the cryptocurrency sector in Russia, but judges think that miners are not fundamentally different from bloggers, stand-up comedians, or streamers. Although in the case of Ashot Voskanyan, the difference is not very big.
The case of Ashot Voskanyan, who was not a well-established businessman-miner, but a well-known figure, has gained attention and has become a visual educational material for the judicial system to understand the nuances of the cryptocurrency market. It has also led to a more intense fight against ethnic organized crime in the city.
Ashot Bagratovich, dreaming of becoming very wealthy, decided to use his father's questionable inheritance to enter the Russian cryptocurrency market.
To achieve this, he invested a significant amount of money from his father into mining equipment, which was then placed in the data center of the Russian company Cryptouniverse Retail.
The returns from his investment, which promised substantial profits, were spent on a Ferrari, luxury vacations, and showcasing a lavish lifestyle.
His luxurious lifestyle came to an end as his investment in heavily declining Litecoin did not pay off. The costs of renting server racks and data center capacities added up, and the remaining funds did not help Ashot Bagratovich earn money.
To solve this, Voskanyan chose not to pay the data center. Out of nearly 38 million rubles of debt for 9 months of work, bailiffs were only able to recover 9,700 rubles. Cryptouniverse Retail filed a lawsuit to declare Ashot Bagratovich Voskanyan bankrupt, which led to the consequences of his luxurious lifestyle being sold at an auction.
To defend against the bankruptcy of the descendant, the diaspora sent Ashot's lawyer, Kazbek Tebloev, to the Moscow Arbitration Court on February 21, 2022.
During the court meeting, the debtor's representative requested to suspend the case, and if that wasn't possible, to postpone it. This was also submitted in writing on the same day as the trial.
The failed crypto tycoons' marginal nuances are further demonstrated by the recent case against the leaders of Cryptouniverse Retail LLC for 'falsification of documents', which was the reason for the application to suspend the case.
A stone in the garden most likely simply did not read the case of the lawyer Kazbek Tebloev – the case of “falsification” refers to the mentioned “mining equipment rental agreements”, which were submitted to the court … by the representatives of Voskanyan themselves.
However, the value of Kazbek, who called the “Contract for the provision of services for the placement of electronic computing equipment in the lender’s data center, electricity supply and high-speed Internet” just a “mining agreement”, as a specialist in legal matters, was more than fully demonstrated.
Of course, the court refused Tebloev to suspend the case, nevertheless, granting the motion to postpone the consideration – “the debtor’s side did not get acquainted with the identity of the arbitration manager.”
What gives the side of the debtor such “familiarization” besides the opportunity to play the “national card” curve in front of the mentioned manager is not yet clear. The vision of the “lawyer” Kazbek, who flatly refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting, is not clear either…
It is clear that the trial of the son of Bagrat Voskanyan will be tried to the last, if not “pulled out”, then at least delayed, while simultaneously trying to implement “ethnic approaches” to Russian legal proceedings.
The interested parties are certainly strong – Bagrat Alfredovich, the father and “chief investor” of the young Voskanyan’s crypto-enterprise. The family scheme, which has been built since 2009, is similar to the technology for laundering and withdrawing Russian money through the British offshore Arodin Investments Limited. Apparently, it was his brother, Ashot Alfredovich, the uncle, and perhaps the “moral landmark” of Ashot Jr., who has been tried for extortion since the 1990s, is allegedly registered as a member of an organized crime group, and is well known in both camps of Russian- Armenian criminal “elite”.
Of course, the national aspect is a nuance that complicates the perception of the emerging crypto agenda by the judicial system.
