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Russia is studying changes to its laws to make it easier to confiscate cryptocurrencies used by criminals. 

That is reported by TASS, citing the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation, Igor Krasnov. 

Krasnov yesterday spoke in St. Petersburg at the conference of heads of prosecutors of European states. He said that Russia is working on some amendments to the legislation on confiscating digital assets because these have become sources of income for the crime. 

He said: 

“The criminal use of cryptocurrencies is a serious challenge in our country.” 

Krasnov added that the Federal Digital Assets Act introduced in July 2020 was a significant step in overcoming this problem, but further work is underway to amend criminal law and procedures to allow for the application of restrictive measures such as virtual assets forfeiture.

It also highlighted how cryptocurrencies have also been used in the country for corruption and bribery, such as paying bribes or laundering stolen funds. 

Cryptocurrency laws in Russia

The law in Russia recognizes cryptocurrencies and allows their use, but without considering them as means of payment. 

As early as July last year, it was speculated that new regulations would be added to this law, so it is even possible that the amendments Krasnov referred to have been under consideration for some time. 

The point is that the current law merely defines cryptocurrencies as a set of electronic data that can be accepted as a means of payment but does not specify what uses are allowed or not allowed. The only de facto prohibition would be to use them as a means of payment. 

Already when this law came out, it was interpreted as a sort of incomplete compromise, that is, a mix between an adverse approach and a pragmatic one, not able to respond to the real needs of the market and citizens. The fact that according to the Attorney General’s opinion, amendments are necessary to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to seize cryptocurrencies in case of connection with criminal activities makes us imagine that also the authorities would prefer to manage them as if they were money. 

 

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