Russian authorities block cryptocurrency news site to “promote money laundering”
Despite the rapid expansion of the cryptocurrency industry, digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and their marketing are not viewed positively everywhere, and the Russian government is even blocking certain media outlets to allegedly promote money laundering.
In fact, Roskomnadzor (RKN) – the Russian federal service for the supervision of communications, information technology and mass media – blocked the website of a Russian crypto news site, Bits.media, for users of most major Russian suppliers, confirmed the outlet on June 30.
As it happens, the portal’s editors discovered that the reason for the blockade was the decision of the Volzhsky District Court in the city of Saratov that five Internet addresses contained “information that promotes money laundering.”
Judge without representation
According to the statement, the court’s ruling was a response to a lawsuit filed by the prosecution on March 31, and the decision was made on April 24. The media also said that the court’s website stated that Judge Alla Danilenko assessed the case without the presence of any of the owners of the blocked addresses.
The blocked addresses were not specifically named in the document, but the official ruling said they contained “information aimed at promoting crimes within the legalization (money laundering) of proceeds of crime.”
Meanwhile, Bits.media intends to contest the ruling, with founder Ivan Tikhonov saying:
– We are an interested party in the case, but no one notified us about the proceedings. We were not given the opportunity to remove the material that the prosecution in Saratov had questions about. We strongly disagree with the verdict. “
Russia’s tradition of blocking crypto news sites
According to the statement, this is not the first time that the government tried to block Bits.media (and other crypto-related sites), with the same situation that happened in January 2015, when the regulator referred to the decision from the city of Nevyansk. court in the Sverdov region.
Even then, the editors challenged the court’s decision, winning the case four months later, after which Roskomnadzor lifted the block on the site. Currently, the Bits.media website is available in Russia via VPN or proxies, as well as from abroad.
Legal vacuum around crypto in Russia
Russia has a complicated relationship with crypto, and even its president Vladimir Putin is asking the government and the central bank to agree on the expanding industry.
As Finbold reported in mid-April, the country’s finance ministry was preparing strict regulations that would address crypto mining in detail for the first time, after the deputy energy minister called for legalization as soon as possible.
At the end of June, the Russian parliament considered a new bill that would fine illegal issuance of crypto or exchange with up to 5,000 Russian rubles ($ 86) for individuals and 30,000 rubles ($ 516) for officials.
At the same time, the Bank of Russia tested its digital central bank currency (CBDC) – the digital ruble – with 12 different banks, with the aim of having it fully launched by 2023.
