Russia Aiming For Undeclared Crypto Transactions To Result In Prison Time

The Russian Ministry of Finance has taken a very heavy-handed approach when it comes to its upcoming cryptocurrency regulations. As it stands now, Russian citizens that fail to disclose their digital assets at least twice, if it’s worth is at or above 45 million rubles in value, can face prison time of up to three years.

It should be noted that there’s a “grace” period, if you’d call it that, as the two offenses need to happen within three years of each other. Another matter to make a note of, is the fact that these new rules stand as an amendment of the previous version of this same law.

Russia Easing Its Crackdown Slightly

With the latest update regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies, it’s clear that the Russian Ministry of Finance is aiming to tighten its grip on cryptocurrencies. The earlier version of this same proposed bill had a far more stringent threshold, putting the limit at 5 million rubles and above in unaccounted funding.

Kremlin-based bureaucrats had further developed the “package of bills,” stating that a minimum jail time of six months is mandated for any undeclared crypto transactions that are worth 15 million rubles or more, but throughout the entire year.

As Justification

The Ministry of Finance was quick to stress that this legislation runs in tandem with the recommendations set out by the FATF. The Ministry further stressed that, by complying with these recommendations, the number of transactions made that relate to money laundering will be reduced.

To further hammer home Russia’s anti-crypto sentiment, the Russian Government, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, had outlawed the use of crypto as a means of payment. This comes in a bid to keep the financial power of the Ruble stable in these new times. This legislation will start to go into effect by the start of next year.

What Matters For Businesses And Crypto Owners

With these new obligations, crypto owners are mandated to report their respective holdings by the 30th of April, 2022 at the latest. The value of their digital currency holdings must be calculated at a price at the date of purchase or sale.

The Federal Tax Service of the country will start cobbling together a way to help determine the market price for a particular crypto asset at a particular frame of time. This would help provide a uniform pricing system, if nothing else.

Crypto miners and exchanges are also subject to crypto laws within the country. They are mandated to share details regarding their respective crypto transactions to Rosfinmonitoring.

These entities will face a fine of 50,00 rubles should they opt out of providing this information in a timely manner. Furthermore, any incomplete tax payment, either partly or wholly, will see a penalty totaling at 40% of the total tax value of all the crypto transactions made.