Russian investigators are seeking permission from Moscow’s parliament and government to open their own cryptocurrency wallet. This would allow law enforcement to seize and ultimately sell digital assets during criminal cases, something authorities in the U.S. and Europe are already doing.
Russian prosecutors lobby for authority to confiscate and auction cryptocurrencies
The Russian Federal Prosecutor’s Office has proposed that investigative agencies set up crypto accounts and wallets under their control to store seized digital coins, which can later be sold for the benefit of the state.
Madina Dolgieva, a representative of the office’s criminal procedure headquarters in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, argued that it is not even necessary to change the law to grant such authority.
Dolgieva said at the roundtable that “the Prosecutor’s Office has consistently advocated the development and optimization of forfeiture mechanisms as another procedural measure.” She quoted Interfax news agency as saying:
We should allow investigative authorities to open their own cryptocurrency accounts and wallets.
This could be done by government decree, Dolgieva elaborated. The law enforcement officer explained, “It is not necessary to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, because that would take time.”
She also believes that in order to give the Executive Board of the Russian Federation the authority to auction seized cryptocurrency, it would be necessary to issue a separate decree or amend the current law governing enforcement procedures.
Dolgieva made the proposal in response to Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov’s request earlier this week that crypto exchanges serving Russian customers be required to register in the country and share user data with Russian law enforcement agencies.
Krasnov also urged the adoption of more comprehensive regulation of digital assets in Russia, believing that simply recognizing cryptocurrencies as property is insufficient to combat criminal flows in the current difficult international climate and increases the risk of vulnerability exploitation through crypto He indicated.
Law enforcement agencies in the US and Europe have already established procedures to seize and sell crypto assets related to crime. A few days ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had seized more than $112 million in cryptocurrency linked to a fraudulent investment scheme. Last July, Finnish Customs announced that it had sold confiscated bitcoins worth more than $50 million.
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