Russia is preparing a new draft to the current legislation. It will allow the confiscation of crypto assets used for illegitimate purposes.
Igor Krasnov, the country’s prosecutor general, spoke at a conference in St. Petersburg on Wednesday and said that crypto is increasingly being utilized by criminals. Russia passed the first law for regulating virtual currencies in 2020, and this update will allow authorities to apply tougher measures for those that make felonious use of it.
“A serious challenge is the criminal use of cryptocurrencies in our country. A significant step in overcoming this problem was the adoption in July 2020 of the federal law. Currently, work is underway to amend the criminal and criminal procedural legislation. This will allow the application of restrictive measures and confiscation in relation to virtual assets.”
Igor Krasnov
Russia has been trying to fight the illegal use of digital assets for quite some time now. Back in May, the State of Duma passed the first reading of a draft law that will be included in Russia’s electoral legislation.
Besides reports on candidates’ financial holdings, for the first time, digital assets will have to be communicated as well. Information regarding their spouses’ and children’s crypto expenses will be required too.
The law won’t apply in all cases, but only when the total sum of these tradings exceeds the entire amount obtained by the candidate and his family in the last three years.
Simultaneously, Russian politicians are also required to give details concerning the sources of the capital that was used to fund digital currency investments.
If a candidate gets elected in the future, he will also need to incorporate the information in his regular anti-corruption reports. Bill No. 1133046-7 has two more hearings to pass before being registered as a new law. It will include those running for a position in the national parliament, municipal councils, and even presidential candidates.
The Russian government is trying to regulate cryptocurrencies instead of banning them. In April, deputy governor Alexei Zabotkin and the first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova of Russia’s central bank held a virtual press conference and announced the intention of issuing a CBDC within 2023.
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