Russian Regulators Notify Members of the Financial Action Task Force to Control Crypto Circulation

All member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) must adopt its recommendations to control cryptocurrency exchange, their storage and more, the Russian daily news channel Izvestia quoted government regulators as saying Monday, October 29.

The Paris-based FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 with the aim of developing standards to combat money laundering and other forms of illicit funding.

Earlier in October, FATF announced changes in standards in terms of digital currencies and businesses involved with crypto-related activities. In its updated guide, the FATF notes that virtual asset service providers must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism (CFT) regulations, and be registered and monitored for compliance due diligence.

Speaking to Izvestia, Pavel Livadny, vice president of the Russian Federation's Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) seemed eager to implement controls for crypto transactions worth more than 600,000 rubles (around $ 9,120).

As recommended by FATF, Livadny said that cryptocurrency "can be circulated and exchanged digitally, and used for payments and investments."

As such, the authorities must bring these activities under regulated control, and monitor the storage, publishing and exchange of other crypto assets, Izvestia reported.

At present, there are no hard and fast regulations governing the cryptocurrency in Russia, with a draft bill to formalize the gray area of the economy still winding through parliament.

Question marks remain above the cryptocurrency holder's tax obligations, while sporadic legal decisions related to Bitcoin (BTC) have been added to uncertain status.

Livadny added that changes to Russian law regarding monitoring related to crypto would affect "in the near future."