Belarus Wants To Start The First Criminal Case For Stealing Bitcoin

In Belarus, the issue of initiating the first criminal case of embezzlement of Bitcoins is being decided. The director of the Minsk firm addressed law enforcement officers, writes the publication "SAT - Belarus Today". The victim said that he bought the cryptocurrency in 2011 at a price of about $ 100. In the summer of 2017, the man through the Telegram messenger got acquainted with a potential buyer who offered $ 3,000 for 0,83 Bitcoins. "Participants of the deal met in a cafe in the center of Brest. Through one of the online exchanges, a guy transferred 0.83 bitcoins to the buyer. Usually, it takes up to few hours for the transaction to be completed. However, the potential buyer managed to escape in an unknown direction. Of course, he never transferred the agreed amount to the seller" Now the police are trying to establish the identity of the thief. The situation with the legal assessment is further complicated by the fact that criminal cases were not initiated before about the theft of the cryptocurrency in Belarus. Perhaps, the case will be initiated under Part 1 of law 209 of the Criminal Code of Belarus - "Possession of property or acquisition of the right to property by deception or abuse of trust (fraud)". The maximum punishment is up to three years imprisonment. Recall, the Bitcoin rate is $16961.72 as of December 14, 2017.

Why is it a crime in Belarus? This country is moving quite fast to regulating cryptocurrency market. The new decree promises a 100% absence of bureaucracy and full support of the blockchain industry by the government of Belarus. As BelTA news agency reported, the president of the republic, Alexander Lukashenko, is ready to sign a decree on the development of the cryptocurrencies, ICOs, and blockchain technology, which the press already dubbed "super-liberal."

Moreover, it will be signed before the end of this year. The President of Belarus noted that the country should make maximum use of the opportunities for the development of the digital economy. A few years ago it was difficult to imagine that the issues of the digital economy would be the subject of discussion at the highest level.