Russian govt commission approves draft bill regulating transactions in digital currencies

MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - The Russian government's legislative activity commission has approved a draft bill to regulate digital currency transactions in Russia, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told journalists.

The draft bill introduces general requirements for the circulation of cryptocurrencies.

It stipulates that deals involving cryptocurrency be conducted exclusively via legal intermediaries who follow requirements for the prevention of money laundering and the funding of terrorism. These intermediaries could include, for example, brokers, trustees, exchanges, crypto depositaries or crypto exchanges.

Banks will be prohibited from conducting payments to unofficial or foreign crypto exchanges without licensed intermediaries from Russia.

"These rules do not limit legal international cryptocurrency deals - for example, the sale of cryptocurrency overseas and the transactions of companies involved in foreign economic activity. Such deals continue to be conducted as part of existing regulations," the deputy prime minister's office said.

The amendments also allow private individuals, or unqualified investors, the right to acquire liquid cryptocurrencies from a list published by the Central Bank of Russia. Tax residents will be able to acquire cryptocurrencies abroad as well as transfer cryptocurrencies purchased via Russian intermediaries overseas.

"As such, the draft bill is aimed at reducing the anonymous and illegal digital currency transactions often used by criminals for fraud, money laundering or tax evasion purposes," Grigorenko's office said.

They also said that the Russian Finance Ministry and the Central Bank had developed the draft bill as part of a plan to "clean up" certain sectors of the economy.