Cryptocurrency Exchange Yobit Investigated in Russia on Fraud Claims

Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor has opened legislative proceedings against cryptocurrency exchange Yobit, alleging fraudulent activity.

Forbes Ukraine reports that the watchdog is to block access to Yobit from Russian IP addresses following multiple reports of suspicious activity on the part of administrators.

“We are now investigating Yobit as an unreliable resource, with an eye to blocking it as a consequence,” a spokesperson said.

Inconsistencies with exchange rates, which allegedly allowed Yobit to profit from its operations illegally, have been the source of a huge numbers of user complaints.

Yobit reacted to the news stated it is bogus and is courtesy of EdinarCoin.

All news about Yobit are fake and paid by EdinarCoin, don’t pay attention — Yobit.Net (@YobitExchange) March 3, 2017

In June 2016, the team behind Blockchain platform Waves issued a warning to users about similar unusual activity relating to its own token on Yobit’s platform.

Specifically, the WAVES token appeared as a BTC pair on Yobit at a stage when it was unable to be withdrawn from private Waves wallets.

“We have no evidence to suggest the exchange’s administration took part in the Waves crowdsale or possesses even the smallest number of coins,” a statement read at the time.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Waves management confirmed they had been unable to contact Yobit.

Forbes meanwhile notes that Yobit is no longer listed as an exchange partner on high-profile sites such as CoinMarketCap.

Founded in Russia in 2015, Yobit is already in the headlines following problems with users trying to withdraw funds from wallets.