Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has instructed the Ministry of Finance to establish a state digital platform for storing seized cryptocurrencies, as reported by Izvestia.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ press service noted that the Ministry of Finance initiated this proposal during last year’s government commission meeting on enhancing the effectiveness of combating internet-related offenses.
The platform will be localized within Russia and fully controlled by the state.
The deadline for implementation is set for October 1, 2024.
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma’s Financial Market Committee, supported the initiative and mentioned that a bill regulating the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies, as well as introducing liability for illegal actions with them, is expected to be adopted in the spring session.
Under current legislation, cryptocurrencies are recognized as property and can be seized in criminal cases as evidence, for compensation of damages, or for confiscation.
Currently, investigators confiscate electronic information carriers or compel the accused to convert digital assets into rubles.
Despite existing practices of confiscation and arrest of cryptocurrencies, comprehensive rules for such procedures in Russia’s criminal procedure legislation have yet to be established.
In April 2022, Russia’s Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov emphasized the need to include digital currencies in criminal legislation for investigating theft cases and enabling their seizure. Previously, the agency prepared regulations to recognize digital assets as crime-related items and confiscate them.
In May of the same year, a court seized the cryptocurrency wallet of the alleged administrator of the darknet marketplace Hydra but was unable to access it.