In the revised bill introducing the digital ruble, presented by the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, deputies proposed clarifying the Central Bank’s powers and introducing significant concessions for non-residents in using the instrument. This was reported by Interfax, citing an informed source.
In the revised document, the clause permitting the Central Bank to participate in the capital of organisations within the digital ruble project disappeared. Otherwise, the regulator’s powers regarding the operation of the platform did not change, but obligations were added. In particular, the National Financial Council must consider the Bank of Russia’s report on the operation of anti-money-laundering legislation in organizing the digital ruble platform. This provision has already drawn a remark from the State Duma’s Legal Department.
“The bill does not provide for changes to this federal law regulating the preparation and approval of the specified report,” the department’s memo states.
The regulator will also need to ensure the implementation of measures to encrypt the information contained on the digital ruble platform about employees of the Federal Security Service, about persons subject to state protection, and about objects that are under state protection in accordance with Russian law.
Significant objections were raised to the rule allowing the deduction of funds from debtors’ digital accounts without the restrictions tied to preserving income at the subsistence minimum.
The Duma’s Legal Department said the proposed norms do not align with the principle of enforcement proceedings protecting the minimum property necessary for a debtor-citizen and their family, and they also create unequal treatment between debtors whose funds are on a bank account and those with a digital account.
The new document allows non-residents to access the platform both through foreign banks and directly through the Central Bank. The amendment also clarifies the currency regulation law: non-residents have the right to perform operations with digital rubles without restrictions.
Persons who are not the platform operator or its participant will not be allowed to use the phrase “digital ruble platform” and derivatives thereof in advertising.
According to sources, the amendments are currently being sent to the relevant ministries. The timeframe for consideration of the bill in the State Duma’s electronic database has not yet been specified.
In April, the Bank of Russia released FAQ on the digital ruble, in which it explained the principles of the new financial instrument and myths surrounding it.
In the same month, Bank of Russia head Elvira Nabiullina announced limits on operations with the new asset.