meta_id 3192317

On an unspecified date, Russia's State Duma adopted in first reading a bill amending the Criminal Code (Уголовный кодекс) and the Criminal Procedure Code (Уголовно-процессуальный кодекс) to establish criminal liability for unlawful cryptocurrency mining and the operation of mining infrastructure without proper registration. Under the proposed legislation, individuals conducting cryptocurrency mining without being registered in the appropriate registry, or providing mining infrastructure operator services without registration, face criminal penalties if their actions cause significant harm to citizens, organisations, or the state, or generate income in substantial amounts. Penalties include fines up to 1.5 million rubles. Enhanced penalties apply when offences are committed by organised groups or cause particularly severe harm to citizens, organisations, or the state, or generate income in particularly large amounts. These aggravated offences carry sentences of up to five years imprisonment. The bill also introduces corresponding amendments to Article 104.1 of the Criminal Code to expand the scope of asset confiscation provisions to cover unlawful cryptocurrency mining and unlawful mining infrastructure operator activities. These confiscation measures apply to property derived from or used in connection with these offences. The legislation establishes a regulatory framework requiring cryptocurrency miners and mining infrastructure operators to register in a designated registry to operate lawfully in Russia. The bill represents the State Duma's effort to regulate and control cryptocurrency mining activities within its jurisdiction through criminal enforcement mechanisms. The bill will proceed to subsequent readings in the State Duma before potential adoption and implementation.