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Russians face potential imprisonment for illegal cryptocurrency exchanges., 2026/04/13 13:03:07
The governmental commission on legislative activity has approved a draft law concerning criminal liability for the organization of illegal circulation of digital currency, particularly if it results in significant damage. This information was relayed to Interfax by a source familiar with the document. The publication does not specify what will be classified as illegal circulation of digital assets.
The draft law adds a new article—171(7)—to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Under this provision, individuals involved in the organization of illegal digital currency circulation may face fines ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles or an amount equivalent to their income over a period of one to two years. Additionally, there may be compulsory labor for up to four years or imprisonment for the same duration, accompanied by a fine of up to 80,000 rubles or an amount equivalent to income for a period of up to six months.
If the offense is committed by an organized group or results in particularly large damage or income, the penalties are increased. In such cases, the offender may be subjected to compulsory labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to seven years, along with a fine of up to 1 million rubles or an amount equivalent to income for a period of up to five years.
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The draft law specifies thresholds for qualifying damage and income. Damage or income exceeding 3.5 million rubles will be considered significant, while amounts over 13.5 million rubles will be classified as particularly large.
Preliminary investigations into cases falling under the new article 171(7) of the Criminal Code will be conducted by investigators from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the Federal Security Service, as indicated by the source to Interfax.
The draft law has not yet been submitted to the State Duma.
Amendments are expected to be reviewed alongside other initiatives aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency market in Russia. Specifically, digital depositories will be required to account for clients’ rights to crypto assets, and only licensed crypto exchanges will be permitted to conduct exchange operations. Violations of these requirements may result in fines for exchanges and brokers of up to 1 million rubles.
