Rysslands finansiella vakthund undersöker 400 Krypto-relaterade fall, Säger regissören till Putin

Rosfinmonitoring genomför hundratals utredningar av fall som involverar kryptovalutor, meddelade byråns chef. Hundratusentals ryssar deltar i kryptoaffärer utomlands, toppregulatorn rapporterade också till den ryske presidenten.

Ryska myndigheter initierar 20 Criminal Cases Linked to Crypto Assets

The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, also known as Rosfinövervakning, is trying to unravel around 400 cases in which cryptocurrencies are involved. The agency’s director, Yury Chikhanchin, revealed the number during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

The financial watchdog is working on them together with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the Federal Security Service (FSB), the high-ranking official noted. Law enforcement authorities have already initiated 20 criminal cases related to digital assets, he also said.

Commenting on the volume of the crypto turnover registered by his department, Chikhanchin acknowledged that Russians continue to actively use cryptocurrency platforms based outside of the country. He elaborated:

This phenomenon continues to exist. And only on two foreign sites, two exchanges, several hundred thousand Russian citizens participate in transactions worth tens of billions.

Quoted by the crypto outlet of Russian business news portal RBC, the regulator pointed out that these are not only settlements or investment deals. Yury Chikhanchin is convinced that some of these transfers are related to crime.

According to official data released earlier this year, the number of court cases relating to cryptocurrency or kryptobrytning in Russia has exceeded 1,500 i 2021. Of them, 62% were criminal cases, mostly related to drug trafficking. The numbers represent a 40-percent annual increase.

Russia is yet to fully regulate its crypto space with a law “On Digital Currency” that lawmakers are expected to review during the fall session of the State Duma, parlamentets underhus. While most intuitions in Moscow agree that the ruble should remain the only legal tender in the country, officials are exploring the option to allow crypto payments for small settlements in international trade.

Do you expect investigated cases involving crypto assets to increase or decrease after Russia adopts comprehensive regulations? Berätta för oss i kommentarsfältet nedan.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev är en journalist från teknikkunniga Östeuropa som gillar Hitchens citat: "Att vara författare är vad jag är, snarare än vad jag gör." Förutom krypto, blockchain och fintech, internationell politik och ekonomi är två andra inspirationskällor.

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