Is Russia Going To Legalize Crypto As A Form Of Payment? Court Sets Precedent In New Verdict

2022-5-26 23:47

The City Court of St. Petersburg in Russia made a judgement that legally acknowledged digital assets less than a week after the Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia would definitely legalize crypto as a means of payment.

Russian Court Acknowledges Crypto As Form Of Payment

Piron and Yevgeny Prigozhin were sentenced to nine and seven years in jail, respectively, by the City Court of St. Petersburg Pyotr, for extorting about $1 million in digital assets from another man.

The St. Petersburg City Court acknowledged cryptocurrencies as a form of payment throughout the trial, according to RBC, a crypto news outlet. The ruling is a first, according to prosecutors, because the Russian government has yet to decide on the legal status of cryptocurrencies.

In order to extort money, the offenders, who pretended to be law enforcement officers, threatened Shemet with criminal prosecution in 2018.

The couple, who were not security officers in fact, extorted 5 million rubles ($90,000) and 55 million rubles ($1 million) in digital assets from Shemet after staging a bogus arrest.

Pyotr Piron, one of the criminals, introduced himself to the victim, G.A. Shemet, as a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer four years ago. According to the story, he threatened Shemet with criminal prosecution in order to extract money from him in fiat and cryptocurrencies.

Piron solicited the help of an accomplice, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former employee of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, because Shemet did not think Piron was a security agent and refused to give him the money he requested.

BTC/USD trades close to $30k. Source: TradingView

They informed Shemet that an unlawful crypto circulation investigation would be carried out. They organized a bogus arrest of the crypto owner in the summer of 2018, and he handed over his fiat cash and crypto cache under threat of torture.

The extorted cryptocurrency was not taken into consideration in the city court’s initial verdict. The ruling said that cryptocurrency:

“Cryptocurrency is not a means of payment on the territory of the Russian Federation, therefore it cannot be recognized as an object of civil rights and a subject of a crime.”

Following an appeal, a cassation court ruled that cryptocurrencies can still be used as a payment method and returned the case to the first instance court.

The city court announced a revised decision that included the cryptocurrency payment without modifying the defendants’ sentence terms.

Related reading | Wanted: Conti Hackers – US Dangles $15 Million For Info On Russian Cybercriminals

Why It Is Important?

This case comes after a district judge in St. Petersburg allowed law enforcement personnel to seize stolen cryptocurrency in another criminal case earlier this month. Investigators had requested the seizure of a suspect’s two dozen cryptocurrency wallets, which contained 1 billion rubles in Ethereum.

Russia has passed a new cryptocurrency law that, while not as strict as the previous prohibition, places strict restrictions on the use of cryptocurrencies as a form of cash.

Denis Manturov, Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister, noted last week that the government and central bank will “sooner or later” legalize cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, implying that the government and central bank are getting closer to a solution.

Moscow has stated its intention to create a central bank digital currency, but has previously discouraged the use of private cryptocurrencies.

The judgement will set a precedent for the Russian government’s future decisions on the legal status of Bitcoin and other digital assets, according to the prosecutor’s office in St. Petersburg.

Suggested Reading | Nvidia Fined $5.5 Million For Covering Up How Crypto Miners Boosted Its Profits

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Similar to Notcoin - Blum - Airdrops In 2024

origin »

Emerald Crypto (EMD) на Currencies.ru

$ 0 (+0.00%)
Объем 24H $0
Изменеия 24h: 0.00 %, 7d: 4.67 %
Cегодня L: $0 - H: $0
Капитализация $0 Rank 99999
Цена в час новости $ 0.0095806 (-100%)

russia court payment legalize crypto industry week

russia court → Результатов: 47


Binance’s Has Been Blacklisted in Russia Since Sept; New Ruling Removes the Restriction

According to a popular news agency, Kommersant, on Jan. 21, Arkhangelsk Regional Court ordered that the Binance website be expunged from the list of blacklisted websites in the country. The head of Binance Russia, Gleb Kostarev, confirmed to Bitcoin Exchange Guide that the reports were indeed true explaining that the court session was held on […] The post Binance’s Has Been Blacklisted in Russia Since Sept; New Ruling Removes the Restriction first appeared on BitcoinExchangeGuide.

2021-1-22 20:59


Фото:

Russia: Court Issues First Ever Fine For Cryptocurrency Advertising

A Russian court has ruled for the first time that a local newspaper must pay a fine of 50,000 rubles ($760) after it ran a cryptocurrency mining advertisement. ‘Financial, Not Consulting Services’ As local news outlet Interfax reports August 8, the Eleventh Arbitration Court of Appeal (ACA) found the publication Edinstvo Nizhnekamsk, which circulates in the Republic of Tatarstan, in breach of advertising regulations.

2018-8-9 14:00


Фото:

Latest Extraction Request Obfuscates Investigation of Bitcoin Scam Suspect Alexander Vinnik

A Greek court has accepted a Russian request to extradite Bitcoin (BTC) fraud suspect Alexander Vinnik, complicating subsequent international litigation, the Associated Press reported July 30. A panel of senior judges in the city of Thessaloniki ruled in favor of a new extradition request from Russia for the accused computer expert. The court’s decision complicates

2018-7-31 05:21