Cyprus regulators just added Mining City to a growing list of fraudulent investment schemes. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission issued a fraud warning on February 22nd, naming Mining City alongside ten other scams for operating without proper licensing.
Mining City operates through Pophetek, a shell company based in Cyprus. The scheme claims legitimacy through the country's relatively clear cryptocurrency regulations, but CySEC wasn't buying it. The regulator made clear that Mining City's website "does not belong to an entity that holds an operating license for the provision of investment services and/or the exercise of investment activities." Securities fraud violates Article 5 of Cypriot law.
This is far from Mining City's first regulatory beating. The Philippines, Canada, and the UK have all issued their own fraud warnings against the scheme.
Mining City launched in 2019 as a bitcoin mining operation—or so it claimed. The reality was far simpler: a textbook Ponzi scheme run by Eyal Avramovich with CEO Grzegorz Rogowski doing the public face work. The operation collapsed and rebooted in 2020, but investor returns dried up fast. By 2021, Mining City executed what can only be described as a messy exit scam, dumping worthless tokens on its victim base.
Avramovich tried damage control in March 2022, telling victims their losses weren't his responsibility. By then Mining City was finished. But not for long.
In October 2022, Avramovich attempted yet another resurrection under the name iMine. The reboot barely registers as alive. SimilarWeb data from January 2024 showed iMine pulling just 900 monthly website visits—practically dead weight for any multilevel marketing operation. The site remains online but geoblocked for US visitors, suggesting Avramovich learned at least one lesson from past crackdowns.
On social media, Avramovich continues to peddle what he calls MineBest, another crypto mining scheme. He's keeping up appearances even as his empire crumbles.
Rogowski, the original front man, bailed before the final collapse. He cited vague health problems and moved on to a new project called Exeno, which he spun out of Mining City around October 2022. Exeno was supposed to be its own entity, but that distinction didn't matter. The company appears to have collapsed as well. Exeno's last Facebook post dates to September 22nd, 2023. Its website is currently inaccessible.
What remains is a cautionary tale of serial fraud: operators shut down by regulators simply rebrand and try again, sometimes under different names or through different people. Avramovich and Rogowski have cycled through Mining City, iMine, MineBest, and Exeno—all variations on the same core scam. Each iteration attracts new victims until regulators catch up, then the cycle repeats.
🤖 Quick Answer
# AOP Block - Mining City Securities Fraud Warning from Cyprus
What regulatory action did Cyprus take against Mining City?
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission issued a fraud warning on February 22nd, adding Mining City to a list of unlicensed investment schemes. The regulator confirmed Mining City lacks proper authorization to provide investment services, violating Article 5 of Cypriot law.
How does Mining City operate its fraudulent scheme?
Mining City operates through Pophetek, a shell company registered in Cyprus. The scheme exploits Cyprus's cryptocurrency regulations to appear legitimate, despite lacking required operating licenses for investment service provision and activities.
Is this Mining City's first regulatory violation?
No, the fraud warning represents another regulatory action against Mining City. The scheme has previously faced enforcement measures from regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions including the Philippines and Canada.
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