Russian Federation suggests that investigators should have wallets for the confiscation of cryptocurrencies

The representative of the General Prosecutor’s Office noted that a government decree could authorize this procedure

10.04.2023 - 07:20

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What’s new? The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation proposed to allow investigative authorities to start cryptocurrency wallets or accounts to seize digital assets and turn them into the country’s budget. Madina Dolgiyeva, the representative of the Main Criminal Procedural Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, said at a speech in the Federation Council that this could be done “through a government decree” without resorting to a lengthy process of amending the law of criminal procedure, Interfax reports.

Interfax’s material

What else did the Prosecutor General’s Office say? According to Dolgiyeva, there is also a need to amend the law on enforcement proceedings, so that after the arrest, the Federal Bailiff Service could sell the seized cryptocurrencies. She specified that the realization of the confiscated assets may be regulated both by making changes in the law on enforcement proceedings and by an additional government decree.

Earlier, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov called for obliging crypto platforms to hand over data to law enforcement agencies to regulate the turnover of digital assets that can be used to finance terrorism.

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Rosfinmonitoring noted that by early March, cryptocurrency turnover in Russia exceeded 630 000 BTC (1 trillion Russian rubles (RUB) at the time).

The Ministry of Finance proposed to introduce penalties in the form of fines of up to 1 million RUB and imprisonment for up to seven years for illegal operations with cryptocurrencies. Also, the department proposed to oblige miners to declare their income, and in case of violation, they could face up to four years in prison.

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