The Ministry of Finance offered to collect suspicious savings. Bitcoin is under threat

The Russian authorities have submitted to the government a bill that would allow the confiscation of fundsif there is no evidence of the legality of their origin. These measures may affect the owners of the cryptocurrency.

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation proposed to makeBudget code amendments that will allow confiscation of citizens' funds and transfer them to the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR). This will affect owners of capital who will not be able to prove the legality of its acquisition.

“Clarifications are now being introduced into the Civil Codeamendments that confiscated in established cases may not only be property in respect of which <…> evidence has not been provided confirming the acquisition of property with legal income, but also funds in the absence of evidence of the legality of their receipt,” the department’s press service said.

Formally, all of the above applies to the sphereof cryptocurrencies, says Mikhail Uspensky, partner of Taxology and a teacher at Moscow Digital School. He believes that after the amendments, bitcoin and other digital coins can be withdrawn in favor of the Pension Fund. But the confiscation mechanism is questionable due to technical difficulties.

“In many areas of law, cryptocurrency is recognizedproperty. The cryptocurrency can be withdrawn in favor of the Pension Fund. Of course, the practical side raises questions. Most of the wallets are still to some extent anonymous, and at the initial stage, the state simply does not have enough resources to chase everyone, ”Ouspensky shared.

Partner and Executive Director of the LegalBureau "Padva and Epshtein" Babenko Anton agreed that the introduction of the amendments could affect the cryptocurrency, as well as securities held in brokerage accounts and other assets. Moreover, the relevant regulations may be developed in the near future.

"The emergence of direct rules on the possibility of confiscationit is a matter of time for citizens of money, property, including cryptocurrencies, and shares in brokerage accounts, including all of the above, located abroad. Moreover, in the short term. Now this measure is in fact widely used in relation to civil servants, ”Babenko explained.

The process of confirming the income received incryptocurrency can be accompanied by a lot of difficulties. For example, if a user bought bitcoin a few years ago and has increased his digital capital since then, it will be necessary to collect documents proving the fact that the asset was acquired with legal funds.

Another possible problem is confirmationincome received from numerous arbitrage transactions when a trader makes money by reselling coins on various platforms. In this case, there will not be a single database with which it is possible to confirm capital gains.

“The only thing that can be advised for holderscryptocurrencies - right now, without postponing, conduct an audit of digital savings. At least take screenshots from the personal accounts of major exchanges, ”Ouspensky recommended.

The process of confiscating digital assets isa separate question. Most investors store their cryptocurrency on trading platforms. But if the company is registered in a foreign jurisdiction, the authorities will probably not be able to demand the withdrawal of funds, said Maria Stankevich, Development Director of the EXMO Exchange.

"Activity of cryptocurrency exchanges withoutthe use of Russian information infrastructure facilities is not subject to the law on the CFA. EXMO, for example, does not use Russian infrastructure facilities and is subject to British law, which means that the Russian authorities cannot demand anything of the kind from us, ”Stankevich said.

On July 22, the State Duma adopted in the third reading the law “Ondigital financial assets ". The document defines cryptocurrency, but prohibits its use in Russia to pay for goods and services. Advertising of digital money payment methods also falls under the ban. The new rules will come into force on January 1, 2021.

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