The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation proposed amendments to the Administrative Code with fines for the illegal circulation of CFA and cryptocurrencies – Bits Media

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Минфин РФ предложил поправки в КоАП со штрафами за незаконный оборот ЦФА и криптовалют - Bits Media

The Ministry of Finance proposed a draft amendment to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with administrative responsibility for the illegal circulation of digital currency and digital currencies, including the organization of trade and acceptance of payments.

8 February for consideration by the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation a draft federal law "On Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses" was sent. The bill was submitted to the Government by the Ministry of Finance and is now at the stage of collecting feedback from ministries and departments.

According to the proposed change in the Code of Administrative Offenses, there will be administrative liability for illegal traffic, violation of the rules of transactions and illegal acceptance of digital currency. Незаконным считается выпуск и обращение ЦФА и цифровых валют организациями и физическими лицами, not registered in the special register of the Bank of Russia. As part of the amendments, the following penalties are proposed:

  • For the illegal release of digital financial assets and / or for violation of the rules for transactions with them: 50 000 – 500 000 rubles for citizens, 100 000 – 1 million rubles for officials, 200 000 – 2 million rubles for legal entities;
  • Acceptance of payments in digital currency for goods and services: 20 000 – 200 000 rubles for citizens, 50 000 - 400,000 rubles for officials, 100 000 – 1 million rubles for legal entities. Additionally, it can be carried out by confiscation of the subject of an administrative offense.

The participants in the consultations noted, что принятие поправок может послужить поводом ухода криптовалютных компаний в теневой сектор экономики и станет «сдерживающим фактором развития рынка ЦФА».

According to the Ministry of Economic Development and other participants in public consultations, the proposed amount of fines is "unreasonably high considering the degree of public danger and potential consequences". Besides, the proposed bill does not provide for a transitional period for the introduction of regulation. If the bill is adopted, The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade proposes to set a delay in its entry into force for at least one year.

According to comments, legislators should concretize situations of illegal acceptance of payments in cryptocurrencies for goods and services. It's necessary, to exclude administrative liability in cases, when the payment occurred without the knowledge of the legal entity or was erroneously recorded in the information system.

At the moment, consultations on the proposed amendments are ongoing and further changes in the draft law are possible.. After agreeing on the amendments, the bill will be submitted to the State Duma, and then will have to go through the Federation Council and get the president's signature.

Recall, that in July last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed
Law on Digital Financial Assets (CFA) and digital currency ". The law came into force since 1 january 2021 of the year. This law does not provide specific penalties for its violation., as a result, it was necessary to amend the codes.