Ked Igor Aleksandrovich

Education

Runets in 2009 graduated with honors from the Ural State Technical University in the field of electrical engineering and informatics. In 2017, he received an MBA from Stanford University and then began creating the first mining data center in Bratsk. As Bloomberg notes, it was while studying at Stanford that Runets thought about building a cryptocurrency mining site.

Biography

2017-2019

Since November 2017 - General Director of Bitriver (Bitriver Rus LLC).

For November 2019, he is also one of the owners of Bitriver through the parent company Fox Laboratories.

2024: Fortune reaches $230 million

At the end of September 2024, the state of Igor Runts, general director of Russia's largest operator of mining data centers Bitriver, reached $230 million. Such data are given in the Bloomberg material, which TAdviser got acquainted with in early October 2024.

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Фото: Bloomberg

Siberia was not chosen for the deployment of mining data centers by chance. Long and cold winters in Bratsk allow the server equipment to cool naturally. In addition, the necessary energy resources are available in the region. Bitriver minimizes environmental impacts and uses inexpensive electricity from renewable sources for mining. Among the company's early clients were Runtz's fellow Stanford students.

As stated on the Bitriver website, as of 2024, the company's infrastructure includes 5 operating data centers with a total capacity of more than 533 MW. More than 175 thousand units of computing equipment are located at these facilities. Bitriver does not mine on its own, but only provides equipment and technical services. Customers pay for a unit of capacity to mine cryptocurrency, plus other costs such as service charges.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 38-year-old Runts's fortune has grown amid an increase in the bitcoin exchange rate. The estimate of $230 million was made based on the approximate cost of Bitriver and the capacity of the company's data centers (about $215 thousand per 1 MW).^[1]

2026: House arrest on charges of withholding tax funds

At the end of January 2026, the Zamoskvoretsky court Moscow sent the founder of the Russian mining operator data centers BitRiver Igor Runts under house arrest. He is suspected of hiding funds at the expense of which tax collection should be carried out.

According to TASS, Runets is charged under Part 1 of Art. 199.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (concealment of funds or property of an organization or individual entrepreneur, at the expense of which taxes, fees, insurance premiums should be collected). The maximum punishment for such acts is imprisonment for up to three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years or without it.

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Фото: Igor Runets. Cover © Telegram

According to the Telegram channel Baza, the investigation charged the founder of BitRiver with three episodes of concealment of funds or property. It is reported that Runets owed the tax authorities more than 121 million rubles. The group of companies associated with the businessman has blocked accounts. The main debtors, according to Baza, are Bitriver Rus LLC (49.3 million rubles), Bitriver Management Company LLC (21.5 million rubles) and Bitriver-K LLC (22.6 million rubles). Personally, Runts has a debt to the Federal Tax Service in the amount of 245 thousand rubles.

Investigators in the petition for the election of a preventive measure noted that Runets is the head of several organizations whose employees are witnesses in the case, while other possible accomplices have not yet been identified. In accordance with the court order, Runets was sent under house arrest for two months.

BitRiver's website says the company operates 15 data centers. Their total capacity exceeds 500 MW. About 175 thousand devices for mining cryptocurrencies are located on the sites.^[2]

Notes