Russian State Duma Committee Endorses AML Regulations for Digital Ruble

The State Duma’s Financial Market Committee has recommended the first reading approval of a bill to extend AML regulations to participants of the digital ruble platform, as reported by Izvestia.

The initiative proposes a multi-tiered model for implementing anti-money laundering requirements. 

All platform users, except credit institutions, will be categorized by the Bank of Russia into three risk groups for suspicious transactions. If a transaction’s legality is in doubt, the regulator may freeze funds or even deny the transaction entirely. 

Certain high-risk individuals on the “Know Your Customer” platform, or those previously subject to lawful asset and fund freezes, may be denied a digital ruble account agreement.

Decisions made by the operator can be appealed. 

Client identification will be assigned to commercial banks participating in the digital ruble platform. The Bank of Russia will share information on asset transactions and any suspicious activity with Rosfinmonitoring.

The Bank of Russia may revoke licenses from credit institutions that violate AML requirements.

The bill is scheduled for consideration on October 15. If passed, it will take effect on January 1, 2025.

The law on the national digital currency came into force on August 1, 2023. The Bank of Russia has set information security requirements for banks handling digital ruble transactions and established tariffs for them.

Testing of the CBDC for individuals and businesses in Russia began on August 15. By the end of 2024, dozens of new banks will join the list of participants. However, a majority of Russians are uninterested in using the instrument, according to a survey.