Serial Ponzi scammer Vladimir “Lado” Okhotnikov has been convicted of fraud in Georgia.
The conviction has seen Okhotnikov, a Russian national, permanently flee to Dubai.
As part of
The Coin Laundry
, an investigation by over one hundred journalists representing thirty-eight news outlets,
reported by ICIJ
on November 17th;
Last year, a court in Tbilisi, Georgia, convicted [Okhotnikov] of laundering $1.1 million in proceeds from Forsage.
Prosecutors summoned him for questioning. “Okhotnikov said that he was afraid,” according to court records. He then gave a suitcase with computers, a phone and memory cards to a third collaborator, described in the records as an apartment designer, who took them across the border to Turkey.
After his interrogation, Okhotnikov fled. “He cited filming a commercial [in] Turkey as the reason for his move, but flew to Dubai two days later,” the lead investigator with the prosecutor’s office said in a witness statement. Okhotnikov never returned.
A Georgian court sentenced Okhotnikov to ten years in prison in March 2024. Okhotnikov appears to have kept his Georgian conviction and prison sentence from investors.
Forsage is a series of MLM crypto Ponzi schemes run by Okhotnikov (right).
Meta Whale
marks the eighth Forsage reboot,
dating back to early 2020
.
Prior to fleeing Georgia, Okhotnikov had been travelling between the two locations – although it’s believed Okhotnikov spent most of his time in Georgia.
In addition his Georgia Forsage conviction, Okhotnikov was also
indicted in the US
in early 2023. The indictment following
Forsage civil fraud charges filed by the SEC
in mid 2022.
Okhotnikov’s troubles in Georgia began after the SEC got in touch with Georgian authorities. That prompted an investigation into Okhotnikov’s laundering of Forsage investor funds.
Negotiations are ongoing but Georgia and the US currently do not have an extradition treaty. It’s likely Okhotnikov thought he was safe in the eastern European country.
Dubai also doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the US. The emirate has
long been at the center of MLM related fraud
and crypto crime in general.
As of November 2025, both Georgia and the US have active international arrest warrants out on Okhotnikov.
Okhotnikov initially laundered Forsage investor funds through an auto assistance business and Georgian banks.
Okhotnikov ran Forsage from an apartment in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, where he spent most of the day at his computer making YouTube videos, his former business associate Petr Pak later told a Georgian court.
The pair co-owned Auto Assistance and Car Service, a company with a minibus that offered transportation to tourists.
After Forsage launched in 2020, Pak said he helped Okhotnikov convert cryptocurrency into cash and deposited it in multiple accounts with two Georgian banks.
A Ukrainian driver from the garage also deposited money on Okhotnikov’s behalf, according to Georgian court records obtained exc
🤖 Quick Answer
Was Lado Okhotnikov convicted of fraud in Georgia?Yes. Vladimir "Lado" Okhotnikov, a Russian national and serial Ponzi scheme operator, was convicted by a court in Tbilisi, Georgia, of laundering approximately $1.1 million in proceeds from the Forsage cryptocurrency scheme. The conviction was revealed through The Coin Laundry investigation, reported by ICIJ in November 2024.
What sentence did Lado Okhotnikov receive in Georgia?
A Tbilisi court convicted Okhotnikov of money laundering related to the Forsage Ponzi scheme, with proceedings resulting in a criminal conviction. Following the conviction, Okhotnikov fled Georgia rather than serve his sentence, reportedly relocating permanently to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to evade Georgian authorities.
Did Lado Okhotnikov flee Georgia after his conviction?
Yes.
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