Russia bill targets unlicensed crypto with jail risk

Russia has introduced legislation that would impose criminal penalties on individuals and firms offering crypto services without approval from the Bank of Russia.

The draft law, submitted to the State Duma, would require entities involved in digital currency circulation to register or face fines and potential imprisonment.

“The same act committed by an organised group, or involving the infliction of damage or the extraction of income on a particularly large scale, would be punishable by compulsory labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to seven years,”

The bill’s text said.

Under the proposal, individuals operating without registration could face fines of up to $4,000 and prison sentences of up to four years, with harsher penalties for coordinated or large-scale offences.

The legislation also includes fines of up to 1 million rubles ($13,100) or an amount equivalent to a person’s income over five years, significantly raising the financial risk of non-compliance.

The move builds on earlier proposals in March targeting illegal crypto mining, expanding the scope to cover a broader range of unregistered digital asset services.

Russia’s Supreme Court has criticised the bill as “premature,” arguing that criminal penalties lack sufficient justification before the country’s Digital Currency and Digital Rights law is enacted in July.