Russian authorities have refused to introduce criminal liability for trafficking bitcoins

The Russian authorities rejected the idea of ​​introducing criminal liability for the manufacture and use of money surrogates, reports "Interfax" referring to a source close to the financial and economic bloc of the government.
According to him, the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Justice takes the position that the reasons for the introduction of criminal liability in this case is not available, and at a meeting held this week, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and government staff agreed with this view.
At the end of the meeting the Ministry of Finance recommended to the participation of interested agencies to finalize the draft report of the President of Russia on the subject and submit it to the government in the second half of August. At the same time the meeting decided that it is necessary to monitor the use of virtual currency and further analysis of the risks of use of money surrogates for criminal purposes. With this in mind, it can be presented a proposal to amend the regulations if necessary.
Question ban in Russia operations with money substitutes (which include power and cryptocurrency in particular Bitcoin), and liability for violation of this prohibition is actively discussed for two years. There are several options corresponding zakonoproekta.Tak spring the Ministry of Finance has prepared amendments to the Criminal Code that establish penalties for release of money substitutes with intent to sell - imprisonment for up to four years, while for the top managers of banks and financial companies - up to seven years in prison with deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev reported in June that the ministry is still thinking over the wording of the bill on money surrogates.