Russia proposes new rules and penalties for cryptocurrency owners

The Russian Ministry of Finance has proposed new amendments to the country's cryptocurrency regulation. The new proposal compiles a new set of rules for crypto owners, exchanges, and miners, as well as penalties for undeclared crypto transactions.

According to Russian business newspaper RBC, the proposed law could see cryptocurrency owners sent to prison for up to three years if they are found to have failed to declare their cryptocurrency transactions to the tax authorities in two of the past three years, if they amount to 45 million rubles or more. For lower amounts, the punishment could be a fine, forced labor, or a short period of detention.

The ministry's suggestion also includes requiring cryptocurrency exchanges and miners to report their activities to Rosfinmonitoring, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the bill on digital financial assets into law in July which will go into effect in January. It is hoped that legalizing these assets will help fight corruption and money laundering. However, cryptocurrencies will still be prohibited as a means of payment.

Last month, Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov announced that Russian officials will soon be forced to declare if they have any cryptoassets, allowing the state to keep track of all civil servants' earnings.