Russia's cryptocurrency bill passed, imposing varying degrees of restrictions on officials' holdings of crypto assets

Some Russian government officials must disclose their cryptocurrency holdings under a new law , while others can no longer hold crypto starting April 1.
Russia passed a cryptocurrency bill in January, but the bill did not directly answer some questions, including what local officials should do with their cryptocurrency holdings. At least two other legal initiatives will require Russian government officials to disclose or completely surrender their cryptocurrency holdings in 2021.
On December 10, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring some public officials to disclose their crypto assets by June 30. The decree, as part of Russia's Digital Financial Assets Law (DFA), came into effect on January 1.
According to the decree, Russian officials or individuals holding public office must disclose their own digital assets, as well as the digital assets of their spouses and children. The legislation falls under the general scope of the Russian Ministry of Finance and is intended to ensure that the government follows local financial reporting rules like ordinary citizens.
But there is another regulation that prohibits certain Russian officials from holding any cryptocurrencies, which is in line with the country's anti-corruption measures. On December 28, 2020, the Russian Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued an information letter reminding some officials that they are obliged to liquidate their digital financial assets and any digital currencies by April 1 , regardless of the country in which they were issued.
The restriction specifically targets individuals listed in part 1 of article 2 of Federal Law No. 79-FL of May 7, 2013, which prohibits certain categories of persons from keeping funds abroad and using foreign financial instruments. The list in the regulation includes many important public positions, including management and deputy positions in public office, the board of directors of the Central Bank of Russia, employees of public companies owned by the Russian Federation, heads of regional administrations and several other positions.
In the information letter, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that other categories of public officials are not subject to these restrictions, but they still need to disclose their digital assets in accordance with the decree signed by President Putin.
While Russian authorities have been introducing new cryptocurrency-related rules for government officials, it is unclear how they will monitor compliance from a technical perspective. Artem Grigoriiev, head of the Russian Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Association’s research laboratory, told Cointelegraph:
“There are currently no laws governing the circulation of cryptocurrencies. The authors of the initiative may have their own vision for how these rules should be implemented. Practice will tell.”
Maria Stankevich, a member of the Russian Committee on Blockchain Technologies and Crypto-Economy, also questioned the technical and legal feasibility of implementing these rules:
“Restrictions on a specific group of institutions holding digital currencies are actually a reasonable move to stop corruption. For all these officials, this sends a clear signal that the government now has another means to show its power when needed. However, the main question is how they will regulate it, as there is no such law or procedure.” (Cointelegraph)