Prosecutor General Krasnov proposed to oblige cryptocurrency platforms to transfer data to security forces

Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov announced the need to regulate the circulation of digital currency, forcing virtual service providers to register and transfer data to law enforcement agencies. He justified this by the difficult geopolitical situation and the risks of financing terrorism.

“So, it is necessary to regulate the circulation of digital currency, to “land” virtual asset service providers, forcing them to register and transfer data to Russian law enforcement agencies,” the Prosecutor General suggested as one of the countermeasures in an article for the Rosfinmonitoring magazine “Financial Security”.

According to Mr. Krasnov, it is not enough to recognize the digital currency as property for the sphere of combating the legalization of criminal proceeds and the financing of terrorism. Using it for criminal purposes requires, among other things, the regulation of the procedure and grounds for carrying out legal proceedings with it, including seizure, storage and confiscation, he explained.

Over the past year, prosecutors have identified almost 4,000 violations of anti-money laundering legislation. Claims totaling more than 26 billion rubles have been filed with the courts, more than half of which have been satisfied. Access to more than 10.5 thousand Internet resources containing information and offers of financial services of a criminal nature was restricted. Nearly 190,000 violations of laws related to countering terrorism have been identified, more than 22,900 lawsuits have been filed with the court, and 63,000 submissions have been made, Mr. Krasnov also said.

In December 2022, the head of the State Duma Committee on the financial market, Anatoly Aksakov declaredthat in 2023 the cryptocurrency will appear in Russia as a legal product, but it will not be possible to use it as a means of payment within the country.

In January 2023 the Bank of Russia introduced two ways of international payments in the digital ruble. Then the experts noted that the introduction of cross-border payments using digital currency also depends on the geopolitical situation.

Read about the circulation of cryptocurrency in Russia in the publication “Kommersant” “No one wanted to launder”.

Maria Fedotova