Russia’s FSB seeks power to obtain information from cryptocurrency exchanges

Russia’s FSB has released a draft order expanding the powers of agency personnel, which will allow them, among other things, to send requests to operators of information systems issuing digital financial assets (DFA).

The agency also plans to obtain the right to request information from credit institutions, tax authorities and institutions that carry out state registration of rights to real estate and transactions involving it.

In the explanatory note, the agency cites changes to anti-corruption legislation, under which information about DFAs must be reflected in income certificates. If approved, the new powers would allow staff to send requests to operators of cryptocurrency issuers and bitcoin exchanges as part of anti-corruption investigations.

The document is currently undergoing public consultation and independent anti-corruption review.

Back in January 2021, Russia’s law ‘On Digital Financial Assets’ came into force. It recognises cryptocurrencies as property and prohibits using them to pay for goods and services within the country.

Earlier the FSB leadership has repeatedly stated that cryptocurrencies are used to finance terrorism and proposed banning the issuance and use of digital currencies as a payment method on the territory of the Russian Federation.

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