#Russia

Miners and holders of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Russia will be regulated under existing provisions of the existing Tax Code with no separate taxation schemes included.

The court in Greek city of Thessaloniki agreed on Friday to extradite a Russian cybercrime suspect and alleged BTC-e exchange operator Alexander Vinnik to France.

According to a 29-page document released from the US Department of Justice Friday, July 13, a dozen of Russian operatives were revealed to have used Bitcoin heavily to fund the DCLeaks operations and propaganda campaign.

According to the Russian Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA), the high volatility of cryptocurrencies can potentially create risks for the country’s financial stability, but these are balanced by the high concentration of ownership of the digital assets.

The City Court of St. Petersburg, Russia has overturned the District Court’s previous decision to block crypto media website Bitcoininfo.ru. As reported by TASS Monday, June 4, the decision came about after the court received an order from Russia’s Supreme Court in April to review the case.

According to Russian media, the alleged BTC-e mastermind Alexander Vinnik has confessed to charges of fraud and money laundering on May 24, 2018. Reports reveal a signed document details that Vinnik admits to committing financial fraud between 2011-2017 through the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange.

A draft bill aimed at protecting the rights of cryptocurrency owners while also regulating them in line with Russian laws was introduced to parliament in March with the biggest expectation being the legalization of cryptocurrency payments. However, as local media outlets report, the expectation of making digital currencies legal tender may not come to pass.

The Russian government has prepared a memo on the law “On digital financial assets” that states the “exchange of cryptocurrencies for fiat money to the amount of 600,000 rubles (around $10,000) and more has to be subject to mandatory currency control,” Russian publication Izvestiya reports.