New Decree Requires Russia’s Public Officials to Disclose Crypto Holdings
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order requiring civil servants to report crypto holdings.
- The report must include all digital assets owned by a civil servant, their spouses, and children.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, speaking at a press conference, Paris, France, 29 May, 2017. Shutterstock
The document, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and published on 9 December, obliges both current civil servants and those set to assume public positions to submit a report — between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021 — detailing their holdings.
Officials are required to disclose all types of digital assets they hold, including cryptocurrencies, digital securities, and utility tokens, as well as any assets owned by their spouses and children. The report needs to include both the quantity of the digital assets and where they were purchased from.
The President also recommended that all federal and regional state bodies, which includes the Bank of Russia and other state corporations, determine their own procedures for providing information about income, assets, and property obligations of their clients.
Yesterday’s decree represents an extension of the standard anti-corruption procedure requiring all assuming public servants to disclose their property and finances.
In November, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced plans to recognize digital assets as property. According to the official transcript of the government meeting held on 26 November, Mishustin said that the growing interest in cryptocurrencies requires the government to regulate the market “in a civilized manner”.
The same month, Russia’s Ministry of Finance proposed new amendments to the country’s crypto law set to come into force in January 2021. Under the new bill, all individuals and companies in the country are required to report their cryptocurrency holdings if annual transactions exceed 600,000 Russian rubles, or about $7,800.
- The popular crypto exchange has decided to sell its business in Russia to CommEX, a crypto exchange business that was officially launched on Tuesday.
- Binance noted that it will fully exit the Russian market, and have no ongoing revenue split or any option to buy back shares in the business.
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- Planned for 1 April, the CBDC trial will involve real consumers and real transactions, though they will be limited to a certain number of customers and transfers.
- The pilot, however, will not be opened to the general public in its first phase, and will only be opened to customers chosen by the 13 participating local banks.
- Blockchain.com has warned Russian users that it will soon terminate support for its custodial and rewards services in the area.
- The company gave Russian nationals until 27 October to withdraw all their assets from the platform, after which their accounts will be closed.