The Russian government has submitted a draft law to the State Duma that would amend the criminal code to punish crypto services operating without regulatory approval or a license. The proposal targets organizations “carrying out activities related to the organization of digital currency circulation” that function without a license from the Bank of Russia.
Under the draft, individuals providing such services without registering with the central bank could face fines of up to $4,000 and prison terms of up to four years. When the same conduct is committed by an organized group, or causes damage or yields particularly large-scale income, penalties increase to compulsory labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to seven years. The bill also envisions fines of up to 1 million rubles (around $13,100) or an amount equal to the convicted person’s salary or other income for up to five years.
This measure follows a package of bills first proposed in March that included criminal sanctions for illegal crypto miners. The current draft adds explicit fines and potential prison sentences covering a broader set of unregistered digital asset services, effectively extending criminal liability across the sector.
Russia’s Supreme Court has criticized the proposal, saying it lacks a “reasoned justification” for criminal penalties and calling the measure “premature” until the country’s Digital Currency and Digital Rights law—expected to take effect in July—is in place. If adopted, the bill would significantly expand government oversight and enforcement powers over the crypto industry.
Separately, sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Grinex paused trading after a hack that cost the platform more than 1 billion rubles (about $13.7 million). The exchange attributed the breach to “entities of hostile states,” reported the incident to law enforcement and filed a criminal complaint.
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