Belarus reports criminal cases over illegal bitcoin transactions

In 2022 the Belarusian State Control Committee opened 70 criminal cases related to the illicit movement of cryptocurrencies. This was reported by the local publication БЕЛТА citing the committee’s chairman Vasily Gerasimov.

According to him, virtual assets facilitate unregulated capital movements.

“The decentralisation of the crypto market and the anonymity of participants in transactions leads to an inability to design clear controls over transactions. The ability to exercise legal action against foreign cryptocurrency platforms is limited,” said Gerasimov.

Nevertheless, the technologies developed allow the committee to identify schemes involving digital assets.

“A register of virtual crypto wallets used in illicit activity has been created, which we are gradually identifying. The committee has identified about 70 of these wallets recently. And the more of these wallets we see, the greater the volume of transactions we can track,” he noted.

The head of the agency stressed the importance of developing bitcoin exchanges operating within the High Technologies Park, as payments routed through them are “transparent”.

Transaction monitoring in Belarus is handled by the committee’s Department of Financial Monitoring and Department of Financial Investigations.

The agency is currently developing criteria for suspicious financial operations that will be fed into the banking system.

“There, they refuse to process such payments and provide us with information, and we then investigate what the matter is about,” added Gerasimov.

In March 2018 Belarus enacted the Decree on the Development of the Digital Economy, which set the framework for the use of cryptocurrencies and tokens, and introduced tax incentives for crypto operations.

In April 2022 the Belarusian Ministry of Justice defined the procedure for confiscation of digital currencies within the framework of enforcement proceedings. The document was adopted to implement the decree establishing a registry of bitcoin wallets used in illicit activity.

According to lawyers, the mechanisms for confiscation and subsequent sale of digital assets are unclear and require clarification.