RBC reports Russia’s government approves criminal penalties for illegal cryptocurrency circulation, with sentences of up to 7 years in prison
Russia’s government commission has approved amendments to the Criminal Code that would impose criminal penalties for the illegal circulation of cryptocurrency, the Russian business outlet RBC reported April 13, citing sources.
The proposed amendments would add a new article — Article 171.7 — covering the illegal organization of digital currency circulation without registration or a license from Russia’s central bank.
“A mandatory element is a socially dangerous consequence in the form of causing major damage, or the extraction of income on a large scale,” the amendments state.
For large-scale violations, the proposed penalties would include fines ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles, forced labor of up to 4 years, or imprisonment for up to 4 years. Violations causing especially large-scale damage would carry a sentence of up to 7 years.
Under the proposed thresholds, damage of 3.5 million rubles or more would qualify as large-scale; damage of 13.5 million rubles or more would qualify as especially large-scale.
In late March, the Russian government submitted to the lower house of Russia’s parliament a bill that would impose sentences of up to 5 years in prison for illegal cryptocurrency mining.
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