Russian parliament considers bill to fine illicit crypto issuance or exchange

Russian authorities are accelerating cryptocurrency regulation with the introduction of a new bill seeking to govern the issuance of cryptocurrencies. 

The bill put forward on June 22 under consideration before the country’s parliament spells out that individuals or companies involved in the illegal issuance of cryptocurrencies will be subject to significant fines. 

According to the bill by Anatoly Aksakov, if adopted into law, individuals will be fined up to 5,000 Russian rubles ( $90) and 30,000 ($550) for officials. Legal entities will part with a fine of between 700,000 and 1,000,000 rubles. 

Additionally, a business that violates the crypto issuance guidelines will pay 700,000 rubles ($13,000) in fines. The proposed law also offers administrative liability for persons illegally carrying out activities in the field of digital rights.

Other leading crypto bills 

Notably, Aksakov has sponsored other crypto-related bills aligned to have a single regulatory framework. For instance, the high-ranking lawmaker is behind other legislation that seeks to ban the use of cryptocurrencies in payments. However, most entities are supporting the idea of having the ruble as the only legal tender.

This comes as various financial institutions in the country debate on the right crypto regulation approach in the wake of mounting sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Amid the debate on crypto regulations, it was speculated that most Russians were embracing digital assets as a means of coping with economic sanctions. However, as reported by Finbold, this was not the case. 

In recent months, there has been a clash between state agencies on the right crypto regulation outlook after President Vladimir Putin called for collaboration. Interestingly, the Central Bank of Russia has suggested a blanket ban on crypto-related activities, while the Ministry of Finance has been pushing for legislation under strict rules. 

Elsewhere, the parliament is also expected to review the “On Digital Currency,” bill by the ministry, which is supposed to regulate crypto-related matters.