Rosfinmonitoring is investigating hundreds of cryptocurrency-related cases, the agency’s head said. Hundreds of thousands of Russians are participating in crypto trading abroad, the top regulator also reported to the Russian president.
Russian authorities open 20 criminal cases related to crypto assets
Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service, commonly known asRosfinmonitoringIt is trying to unravel about 400 cases involving cryptocurrencies. The agency’s director, Yury Chikhantin, revealed the figure during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The financial watchdog agency is working on them, along with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the Federal Security Service (FSB), the official noted. Law enforcement agencies have already initiated 20 criminal cases related to digital assets, he also noted.
Chikhanchin commented on crypto sales registered by his department and acknowledged that Russians continue to actively use expatriate-based cryptocurrency platforms. He elaborated.
This phenomenon continues to exist. And on two foreign sites, on two exchanges alone, hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens participate in transactions worth tens of billions.
Quoted by Russian business news portal RBC crypto outlet, regulators noted that these are not only payment and investment transactions; 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 related to cryptocurrency or crypto mining in Russia exceeded 1,500 in 2021. Of these, 62 percent were criminal cases, mostly related to drug trafficking. This figure represents a 40 percent annual increase.
Russia has yet to fully regulate the crypto space with its law “On Digital Currency,” which lawmakers are expected to consider in the fall session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. Most intuitions in Moscow agree that the ruble should remain the country’s only legal tender, but authorities are considering the option of allowing crypto payments for small settlements in international trade.
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