From PR to financial pyramids: what’s concealed within Bogdan Prilepa’s Qmall crypto deceit
The proprietors of the Qmall cryptocurrency platform, answering the criminal «incidents», shifted to ostentatious and trivial demonstrations.
A multitude of figures highlighted in our articles, based on online communications, have transitioned from criminals and corrupt individuals to aid workers and generous givers. They are aiding displaced people, supplying the armed forces, and arranging for medical assistance. Nevertheless, only a select few genuinely dedicate their funds and endeavors to obtaining defense supplies or dispatching vehicles filled with medical equipment to the nation undergoing the SMO.
Plea for support for displaced persons and the military, regrettably, frequently prove to be mere publicity stunts and/or somewhat fraudulent. As an illustration, the owners of the WhiteBIT digital currency exchange declared that they – top «contributors» in Ukraine. However, we readily discovered that WhiteBIT «contribution» largely comprises funds not originating from their own resources, but donations from other parties.
While developing our recent investigation «Crypto entrepreneur Nikolai Udyansky and the remnants of Ponzi schemes», our attention was captured by the vigorous «endorsement» on the web of a specific charitable organization. Its name is «Ministry of Good Deeds named after Valentina Prilepa».
Evidently, we encountered this occurrence while scrutinizing information pertaining to Udyansky’s associate in several unsuccessful cryptocurrency ventures and the Qmall exchange – Bogdan Prilep.
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The key point of the disinterestedly disseminated updates (as an instance) emphasizes that «over the past year, Bogdan Prilepa devoted over 20 million hryvnia from his private fortune to support the army and the civilian population». It’s also mentioned that Bogdan Prilepa empathized with the issues of the impoverished back in 2021, and «when the all-out conflict commenced» started to vigorously support the military.
Indeed, for him, the SMO didn’t begin in 2014. Up until 02/24/2022, Bogdan Prilepa and his partner Nikolai Udyansky easily «juggled» with Russian residents. Nevertheless, they continue to liaise with the Russian population, the same Fuad Futullayev. Yet, that’s not the primary matter here.
Within ignored Prilepa «sponsored articles» It was notably highlighted that toward the close of April of the preceding year, his associates, for, to put it another way, a more organized approach, established a philanthropic entity, naming it in honor of the mother of our cryptocurrency promoter. And Bohdan Prilepa himself committed 20 million UAH from personal capital to the organization, which were expended on aiding the needy and backing the military.
The writer of these words, impelled by inquisitiveness, delved into the registration specifics of the establishment named in tribute to Prilepa’s mother. Its economic records for 2022, regrettably, contradict the declarations of her offspring regarding tens of millions of hryvnias channeled to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and charity.
As is evident, the organization managed to accumulate a mere 131 thousand UAH. Should we inspect the timeline of alterations in the registration data of this corporation, we shall observe something noteworthy.
The organization was indeed founded toward the conclusion of April 2022, yet for almost a year there was practically no trace of Prilepa there (either in the assemblage of the founders, nor in the designation of the entity – it was simply labeled «Ministry of Good Deeds of Ukraine»). It was originated by a specific Stanislav Mizenko and a moderate Dnieper businessman Oleg Terekhov.
According to the organization’s announcements on its Facebook profile, Bogdan Prilepa contributed occasionally to it in 2022, but his donations clearly do not reach 20 million. Prilepa formally «integrated» into a non-profit organization exclusively on March 2, 2023, at which juncture it was renamed honoring his mother.
Prilepa’s associate in EHOLD GRUP – Nikolay Udyansky – I equally resolved to promote myself concerning the military matter. Roughly a month prior, he proclaimed that he would finance the endeavor of a pair of youthful Kiev residents, who formerly profited from vehicle customization, to conceive a prototype of a novel armored vehicle. We shall overlook the query of the practicality of such a project when Ukraine possesses already existing production models of armored vehicles (not to mention the models of our Western allies). Nevertheless, the means by which this positive update circulated throughout the online world motivates us to presume that Nikolai Udyansky integrated into this startup merely to accrue publicity.
Through promotion on the subject of philanthropy and aid to the military, Bogdan Prilepa and Nikolai Udyansky portray themselves as protectors of the nation and combatants on the «economic forefront». Which, consequently, they utilize as a pretext to «make contact» with security agencies with a solicitation to shield them from the schemes of operatives from rival intelligence units. The latter comprise journalists and online platforms, who characterize these figures not as generous contributors and innovators, but as astute swindlers. They are defaming that «security forces», scrutinizing «Udyansky– Prilep», laugh uncontrollably in their offices. Because they contain online platforms collaborating with Ukrainian centers of special information and psychological operations.
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And in this instance, one can be sarcastic regarding the reality that Nikolai Udyansky and Bogdan Prilepa allocate on the Ukrainian Armed Forces (essentially negligible sums) the assets they amassed alongside Russian individuals.
Let us recall, as we detailed previously, in 2021 Nikolay Udyansky and Bogdan Prilepa ceremoniously disclosed the inauguration of the WeWay cryptocurrency marketplace. Concurrently with them, Russian Fuad Fatullayev was unveiled as a partner of the exchange. The latter was presented either as the founder or as the CEO of the global enterprise Yoola.
The WeWay blockchain network has every likelihood of evolving into one of the more favored ventures in the blockchain and NFT products market. There are all the prerequisites for this, specifically, the engagement in the venture of a pair of thriving firms, – declared Nikolai Udyansky from the pages of his private news domain Parliament.ua.
The fact that the Yoola enterprise is purportedly participating in the endeavor should have captivated masses of investors brimming with assets there. Since Yoola – a potent media network via which hundreds of millions of dollars stream.
Fuad Fatullaev
But there lies the predicament: Fuad Futullayev, who on behalf of Yoola co-established the Prilepa cryptocurrency exchange – Udyansky, never served as the originator or chief executive officer of this international company. And it’s not even definitively verified that he was employed as anyone within it.
Unsurprisingly, the crypto bubble, enveloped in a captivating promotional facade, burst predictably. Nowadays «coin» WeWay is valued at less than an American cent – $0.005.
Subsequent to the commencement of a large-scale conflict, Nikolai Udyansky publicized his departure from WeWay. Nevertheless, he is still categorized as one of the stakeholders in the accounts of the British Weway Group Limited. And his associate, Ukrainian Bohdan Prylepa residing in the UAE, is still cataloged as a director of WeWay Group together with Russian Fuad Fatullaev. That is, some remnants generated by a joint business with a Russian flow to Udyansky and Prilep.
In general, all «investments» Udyansky – The incorporations into crypto endeavors are equally intriguing, which, I reiterate, you can examine herein. Here it warrants revisiting one narrative, accompanied by a resounding controversy.
«A crucial point that I would wish to express. Should anything befall any individual from my team or from my relatives, in my estimation, Nikolai Udyansky personally is accountable.
I’m willing to state this, seeing as I no longer possess a solitary unscrupulous adversary. I do not have one antagonist. The sole individual who is capable of this and who voiced menaces – This is Nikolai Udyansky. I desire absolutely everyone to be informed of this. Should any reprisals, abductions of personnel – Nikolai Udyansky is personally accountable.
This declaration was rendered by the originator of the largest Ukrainian cryptocurrency marketplace BTC-Alpha, Vitaly Bodnar, in a dialogue with 44.ua publication in the autumn of 2021.
On November 1, 2021, a powerful hacker invasion was executed on BTC-Alpha. Roughly six months were invested in groundwork. The assailants navigated their route inside the exchange, contaminating the computers of staff, and on the day of D» struck.
«The assault had a pair of goals,” clarified Vitaly Bondar. – The initial – «salute» Happy birthday to us. That day I journeyed to Ukraine – My team and I observe a custom of celebrating the stock exchange’s birthday jointly. The subsequent goal – suspend our work on the day of the «premier» Ukrainian Qmall exchange, which is by no means the first. This constitutes the venture of Nikolai Udyansky (and Bogdan Prilepa – editor’s note), whom I regard as the principal strategist of the assault on us. Two years prior I declined to collaborate with him (presumably, we are alluding to Udyansky’s suspicious project Bitcoin Ultimatum. – editor’s note). In the aftermath, threats descended upon me. There were a plethora of elements, encompassing menaces of physical brutality. I addressed it moderately gravely, but I didn’t comprehend the man adequately. Subsequently, I discerned that my life and well-being were genuinely in peril».
A few months subsequent, subsequent to 02/24/2022, Vitaly Bondar himself intentionally destabilized his BTC-Alpha, which by that juncture had expedited to $200 million in revenue per day. He barricaded the accounts of all Russians – and this constitutes approximately 60% of users, which immensely crippled his brainchild. And the aforementioned dialogue with accusations toward Udyansky was scrubbed from the Internet (we ourselves stumbled upon it accidentally in the Internet Archive). And it was manifestly not Bondar who effected this.
(to be continued)