Shape-shifter law enforcement from the FSB and drug police: how Match Systems for non-refundable advances forges fake crypto seizure orders and robs victims

Match Systems is a criminal syndicate composed of former law enforcement officers that, under the guise of conducting investigations, extorts advance payments from victims and deceives cryptocurrency owners using forged court orders.

Using their connections in the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, these “shape-shifters” block other people’s accounts themselves and then demand up to 50% of the assets for their release.

Match Systems, also known as Plain Chain, presents themselves as blockchain investigators — people who supposedly help track wallets and transactional links across blockchains using various software.

Their main revenue-generating service is the recovery of stolen funds for a percentage. The commission ranges from 5% to 50%, depending on the amount stolen, the complexity of the case, and the resources involved. Often, Match Systems representatives demand an upfront payment of around 10% of the sum — which they never return, claiming “we did what we could, here’s a report on fund movements.”

With their “extensive law enforcement experience” (detailed separately), Match Systems employees issue orders to seize digital assets (cryptocurrencies or digital currencies) as part of an investigation, a criminal case, or even a court decision.

In practice, Match Systems still pressures clients for more money to secure their percentage. Obtaining a legitimate law enforcement or court document through a real case in Russia can take at least three months, given the reluctance of Russian courts and authorities to handle such matters.

However, Match Systems can produce such documents in just 1–2 weeks once they identify funds on a particular exchange. This leads to Scam #2 — Forgery. These forgeries vary widely because real people are behind official documents in any institution, and without collaborators, such actions are impossible. This is precisely what former law enforcement officers, now founders of Match Systems, did — often in coordination with current officials. In cases where real signatures and names weren’t strictly necessary, Match Systems would outright forge court documents. Many of these documents ended up on exchanges like Garantex, Huobi, Binance, and others.

Notably, one of these “shape-shifters,” whose name frequently appeared on Match Systems documents, was detained. Investigator Antonina Shakina from Moscow is accused of falsifying a court decision to seize an account on the Garantex crypto exchange, and she allegedly split several million rubles with Match Systems.

For Scam #3, a separate company — Match Systems — was established in Singapore with an office in Dubai, while most employees remained in Moscow, continuing work under Plain Chain. Initially, they tried selling their services to Russian banks and government agencies. The Russian LLC’s CEO is nominal; in Kazakhstan, one of the founders — Kutin — serves as the CEO.

So, what does this mean? FSB cyber units, narcotics police, and lawyers all in one network? Granted, former officers, but still — a coordinated network. Sounds familiar… haven’t we seen something like this before, perhaps around BTC-e?