Blogger Harut Nazaryan, who called himself a “crypto billionaire,” was sent to an Arab prison for operating an exchange without a license. The court imposed a fine of four billion rubles on him, but the man had no money: in 2022 he was declared bankrupt. Previously, Nazaryan wrote rap music and released joint songs with Morgenstern*, Lyusya Chebutina, Big Baby Tip and other artists. Vechernaya Moskva found out what the Crypto Billionaire was and why he risked never returning to his homeland.
What was Nazareth known for?
Most of Harut Nazaryan’s biography is known only from his words. Born in 1988 in Uzbekistan. The boy was raised by a single mother. The family had little money. From the age of 14, the teenager began to earn extra money: he washed cars, sold watermelons and worked as a waiter.
In 2007, Nazaryan went to St. Petersburg to stay with his grandmother. Later, the guy said that he liked the northern capital so much that after school he decided to stay there. He allegedly enrolled as an economist at Saint Petersburg State University.
After receiving his higher education diploma, Nazaryan returned to Uzbekistan and opened a nightclub, but he went bankrupt and closed the business. After that, the man, as he put it, moved to Dubai with the remaining money. At first, the future “crypto billionaire” had to spend the night on the beach until he got a job as a sales assistant at a Ralph Lauren store.
After saving money, Nazarian launched a website to sell games online. Then in 2014, on the advice of a friend, he invested $100 in cryptocurrency by buying Bitcoin. Three years later, the price of the coin rose to 20 thousand dollars, and Nazaryan’s capital increased several times. After that, the man sold the house he inherited from his parents, and used the money he received again to buy bitcoins. This investment has also paid off.
After his sudden financial rise, Nazarian founded the cryptocurrency exchange Bistox and the venture capital fund Morningstar Ventures, which invests in various business ideas. A parking lot was also opened and became… Car rental For rent. At the same time, the man began writing a blog in which he taught subscribers how to invest in cryptocurrencies. After a while, when he became more famous, in 2023 the man launched the Arut Academy educational investment platform.
At the same time, Nazaryan developed a musical career. He has rapped and recorded collaborations with artists Alisher Morgenstern*, Big Baby Tape, Lyusya Chebotina, The Limba and Eljay.
Bankruptcy and fraud charges
Over time, rumors began to spread on social networks that Nazaryan was on the verge of bankruptcy. The reason for this was problems on the Bistox exchange. Starting in 2021, customers began complaining en masse about their inability to withdraw funds. Then netizens discovered that the project’s registration data was not publicly available. The stock exchange began to be called a “scam” and “fake”, and its creator was a fraud. The blogger himself did not comment on these rumours.
Then Nazarian’s music career went downhill. Listeners considered him a rapper who auditioned for money. Other artists who recorded joint compositions with him also suffered. In 2023, rapper Kizaru came under fire online for allegedly agreeing to sing with Nazarian in exchange for a large sum. Meanwhile, the blogger quarreled with Morgenstern*. Rapper was angry at ‘crypto billionaire’ He announced without his knowledge In the shared video, the bookmaker. At the beginning of 2024, Nazarian left the Bugatti Music label.
In the spring of the same year, Nazaryan gave a long interview to journalist Ksenia Sobchak, which only fueled rumors about his bankruptcy and fraudulent schemes. At first he admitted that he had only completed nine years of school and had purchased three higher education certificates. He then failed to confirm that he is indeed a “crypto billionaire” with properties in Dubai.
Two months later, Nazarian posted a video on his blog in which he admitted that he had declared bankruptcy in 2022. According to the man, he tried to create the appearance of wealth so as not to lose his projects and “his reputation as a billionaire.”
Video in which Harout Nazarian admits his bankruptcy / Video: Social networks
How did Nazaryan end up behind bars?
On June 8, 2026, it became known that Harut Nazaryan was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates. According to investigative blogger Andrei Alistarov, who communicated with the “billionaire’s” acquaintances, the man went to prison at least in February 2026. Shortly before that, Nazaryan announced that he had spent all his assets and was selling his property to pay off his debts. The reason for filing a criminal case against Nazaryan was the operation of a cryptocurrency exchange without a license.
— The main problem was the lack of a license in the UAE. “That is, it was necessary to obtain a license in order to open a cryptocurrency exchange,” said blogger Alistarov on his page on social networks.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that Nazarian be imprisoned for six years, but the court chose a more lenient sentence: two years in prison. The man was also fined 200 million dirhams (nearly four billion rubles).
Since the businessman declared bankruptcy in 2022, he does not have the money to pay the fine. Telegram channel The rule He writes that without paying this debt to the court, Nazaryan will not be able to leave the territory of the UAE. Harut’s representatives tried to appeal the sentence issued against the blogger, but the court did not reduce the sentence.
In the fall of 2025, it became known about the death of another cryptocurrency investor, Roman Novak, who called himself a friend of businessman Pavel Durov. He was kidnapped and killed in the UAE with his wife. The couple became victims of blackmail. It is possible that the organizers of the crime were Russian. Novak has previously been involved in several financial scandals, including defrauding investors of $500 million.
*Alisher Morgenstern was recognized as a foreign agent in Russia by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.