Finiko: the largest financial pyramid in Russia in recent decades

The project promised returns that, by the standards of the legitimate financial market, looked fantastical — from 20 to 30% per month, that is, many times more than any regulated investment instrument is capable of offering in a year. Finiko, which Kirill Doronin developed from 2019 onward, became one of the most notorious financial pyramids in the post-Soviet space in recent years, although investigators repeatedly revised the actual scale of the damage caused.

From August 2019, people were offered passive income in the name of Finiko: the funds they invested were supposedly multiplied through investments in stock markets, cryptocurrency and other trading instruments, while participants were guaranteed returns of up to 25% per month. The project was actively promoted through a network of ambassadors and social media, attracting new depositors with promises of income unattainable through any traditional financial product.

Estimates of the scale of the damage changed substantially as the investigation progressed. An early assessment by the Russian Interior Ministry (MVD) in 2021 spoke of more than 7,700 victims and losses exceeding 1 billion rubles. However, the final indictment, formulated in 2024, confirmed a substantially smaller documented scale — around 159–160 victims for a sum of approximately 209 million rubles, although more than 900 witnesses appear in the case file.

Kirill Doronin was detained in Kazan on 30 July 2021, and he and nine of his associates were charged with organizing a criminal community and fraud on an especially large scale. The trial at Kazan's Vakhitovsky Court dragged on for years: the hearings concerning Doronin and his circle continued through 2024 and 2025, and the court kept questioning new victims. Doronin himself does not admit guilt.

Meanwhile, sentences against individual people involved in the scheme were already being handed down — in particular, one of Finiko's "stars", Liliya Nurieva, received 4 years and 6 months' imprisonment, although the prosecution had sought 6 years and 6 months for her. However, as of now no final verdict has yet been handed down against Doronin himself, and his status in the case remains that of a defendant whose guilt has not yet been established by a court.

Published 16 May 2023