Russia Would Now Monitor Crypto To Fiat Transactions

Crypto to fiat transactions is now being monitored closely in Russia by the country’s law enforcement agencies. This is according to a report by Russian news agency Regnum.

Russia Tracks Cryptocurrency Cashouts

Rosfinmonitoring, also known as Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service, has its eyes on cryptocurrencies in the country. The agency informed the Russian parliament that it had started paying close attention to transactions involving the conversion of Crypto to Rubles. 

Rosfinmonitoring’s Deputy Chief Herman Neglyad made this known during a meeting with State Duma Committee members on the Financial Market.

He said that the Anti-Money Laundering body was working with commercial banks to police crypto to fiat transactions.

It’s also reportedly working with the country’s central bank to develop a framework that can track these transactions.

“Banks have already begun to pay attention to exchange operations, that is, when they see that an operation has come after the exchange of virtual assets for hard currency, they have already begun to evaluate them and actually inform us about these operations.”

It comes as no surprise that Rosfinmonitoring is putting more effort into tracking cryptocurrency transactions. Rosfinmonitoring is in charge of tracking money flows linked to money laundering and terrorism in the country, and the agency reports directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Recall that the Russian President recently urged Rosfinmonitoring to pay more attention to illegal cross-border cryptocurrency transfers.

Russia And Its Stringent Crypto Laws

There have been a series of tightened cryptocurrency laws in the country, and the tracking of crypto to fiat transactions is only the latest in Russia. In the past, President Putin had imposed stringent restrictions on the use of cryptocurrency in the country.

The Russian Central bank has never been keen on cryptocurrencies either. The bank has once issued a letter warning the public of criminal acts associated with cryptocurrencies. The apex bank strongly believes cryptocurrencies could be used for money laundering and to support terrorism.

Last year, the President signed a law that allows cryptocurrency trading, mining, and ownership generally but disallows it to be used as a medium of exchange of goods and services.

Putin also signed a decree demanding that some public officials declare their crypto holdings by June 30, 2021. The same law directs some public officials to sell their cryptocurrency holdings by April 1.

The regulation prohibits certain Russian officials from owning any cryptocurrency, in line with the country’s anti-corruption measures. In December 2020, the Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Protection published an informational letter reminding some officials that they are obligated to liquidate their digital financial assets and any digital currencies by April 1, regardless of the country of issuance.