Russian Public Officials Banned From Holding Cryptocurrency

The Russian Ministry of Labor has reportedly banned government officials from owning and using cryptocurrencies. Officials have also been ordered to dispose of any cryptocurrencies they own by April. Russia Prohibits Government Officials From Holding or Using Cryptocurrencies The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation has issued a letter in which it informed civil servants that they must get rid of any cryptocurrencies they are holding by April 1, Forklog reported Friday. “Officials are obliged to dispose of digital financial assets issued in information....

Some Russian public officials have to disclose their crypto holdings, while other officials are obliged to hold zero crypto by April 1, according to a new law. Russia adopted its cryptocurrency law in January, but this legislation does not provide a direct answer to some questions, including how local officials should deal with their crypto holdings. There are at least two other legal initiatives requiring Russian public officials to declare or even get rid of their cryptocurrency holdings entirely in 2021.On Dec. 10, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree obliging some....

Public officials in Russia will now be required to declare all the crypto assets they hold as income. The measures are with effect from Jan. 1, 2021, local media reported. Russia’s prosecutor general Igor Krasnov declared: “Starting next year, civil servants will be required to declare [virtual] currencies on an equal basis with other assets.” Krasnov said this on Oct. 20 while speaking at a corruption meeting involving 15 other prosecutor generals from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states and elsewhere. The SCO is an eight-member political, economic....

Cryptocurrency mining should be recognized as an entrepreneurial activity under Russian law and taxed accordingly, representatives of key ministries in Moscow and the parliament have indicated. Officials believe the regulatory move would benefit both the state and the crypto industry. Russian Government to Collect Millions of Dollars in Taxes After Legalizing Crypto Mining While the law “On Digital Financial Assets” — which entered into force in January this year — regulates certain crypto-related activities such as “digital currency issuance,” it....

The Russian prosecutor general allegedly reports that cryptocurrencies are being utilized for bribing. As a result, Russia introduced cryptocurrencies into its legal system and as a taxable value in 2020. The country has also banned its public officials from possessing crypto with effect from this year. Russia is now assembling legislation to ensure that law-enforcement […]