In 2019, the Bank of Russia discovered 237 financial Ponzi schemes that operated on the territory of Russia. Many of them promised high returns and encouraged investing in cryptocurrencies.

Valery Lyakh, the director of the department for counteracting illegal activities in the Russian Central Bank, said that in 2019 the Central Bank discovered 237 Ponzi schemes in Russia. This is the biggest number of Ponzi schemes discovered by the Russian financial regulator within the five year period, during which the Central Bank was entitled to search for such fraudulent schemes. In 2018, the regulator identified 168 such organizations.

Most often, organizations promised investors high returns after investing in cryptocurrencies, including coins of Facebook and Telegram. Fraudsters also widely used construction and agricultural projects, as well as shares of companies that, according to them, should soon be listed on the stock exchange.

Among these 237 Ponzi schemes, 80 projects just started attracting investments and launched advertising campaigns, but did not manage to raise funds from retail investors.

Lyakh also noted that current Ponzi schemes tend to be of a smaller size than before, and most likely this trend will continue.

Almost half (43%) of Ponzi schemes were registered in the UK. Mostly they attract money through sites and social networks, but some also open offices for greater "solidity" and cash collection, Lyakh said.