The Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office has prepared a bill to recognise cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets as property for criminal proceedings under the Criminal Code. Interfax reports, citing a statement by the agency’s head, Igor Krasnov.
He said that Russia is seeing a rise in crimes committed with modern financial technologies. The Prosecutor-General linked this to gaps in the regulatory framework governing the cryptocurrency market.
“The status of online platforms that allow anonymous buying and selling of cryptocurrency remains undefined, and the question of classifying virtual assets as property for the purposes of criminal proceedings has not been resolved. We have proactively prepared the corresponding bill,” Krasnov said.
As noted earlier, since 1 January the law “On Digital Financial Assets” has come into force. It recognises cryptocurrencies as property and prohibits their use to pay for goods and services within Russia.
Under current law, digital currencies are treated as property under bankruptcy law, enforcement of court orders, the anti-money-laundering law, and the anti-corruption law.
In December 2020, a bill was submitted to the State Duma that would have recognised cryptocurrencies as property for taxation purposes, but the document has not yet been adopted.
Follow ForkLog’s bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analysis.