PANews May 19 news, according to The Block, Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the Telegram Mini App "Blum" and former head of Binance CIS region, was arrested in Moscow on suspicion of large-scale fraud. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow approved the request for his detention, and an investigation was initiated under Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (particularly large-scale fraud).

The Blum project subsequently announced that Smerkis had resigned from his position as Chief Marketing Officer and would no longer participate in project development or hold the co-founder role. Reports suggest that the allegations may be related to his previous leadership of The Token Fund and Tokenbox projects, which raised millions of dollars but ultimately failed to deliver on promises, resulting in losses for investors.

Blum launched the "Drop Game" in May 2024, allowing users to earn "Blum Points" by clicking on snowflakes on the screen, with a promise that they could be exchanged for tokens in the future. However, the airdrop plan has been postponed multiple times, and there is still no clear timeline for the Token Generation Event (TGE).