Russia Inches Closer to Crypto Regulation as Ministry Hands Gov’t its Draft Bill
Russia’s Ministry of Finance says it has formally submitted its draft bill on crypto regulation to the government – a move that could finally put an end to the political in-fighting that has dogged politicians in their bid to police the industry.
In a press release, the ministry said that the government had “also received proposals from the Central Bank,” noting the latter’s wish “to impose a ban on the organization of the issuance and circulation of digital currencies, as well as the introduction of liability for relevant offenses.”
But the ministry noted, pointedly, perhaps:
“The Central Bank’s proposals will be taken into account in further work on the draft law insofar as they do not contradict the approach of the Ministry of Finance.”
The ministry added that its proposed changes were “aimed at creating a legal market for digital currencies with the establishment of rules for their circulation and their participants.”
Per the ministry, the new bill, if adopted by parliament, would oblige the judiciary to consider crypto “solely as a tool of investment.”
The bill will require domestic exchanges in Russia to abide by corporate governance, reporting, information storage, internal control and audit, risk management system, and fund management protocols, while “foreign crypto exchanges will have to register in Russia to obtain a license.”
All crypto transactions will also have to be carried out through bank accounts, with banks ordered to “inform Rosfinmonitoring [Russia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing body] should they identify suspicious-looking transactions.”
The bill also proposes that citizens take online tests “before purchasing cryptocurrency, which will determine their level of knowledge about
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