Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister阿列克谢·莫伊谢耶夫has confirmed that Russia will impose legal sanctions on the exchange of Bitcoin for fiat currencies, such as the ruble.

Alexey Moiseev told CoinDesk that the proposed draft law is under discussion and, if passed, would mean that anyone exchanging digital currencies for fiat currency would face four years in prison.

He explained:

"We have draft legislation that provides for a four-year prison sentence for certain types of activity involving ... 'quasi-currency'. These activities involve exchanging something quasi-currency for national currency such as the Russian ruble. This is the only type of activity that we recommend for criminal penalties."

However, it is worth noting that Moiseev said that the draft law does not prohibit the mining of digital currencies or the trading of digital currencies with each other.

Bitcoin in Russia

The move comes after Russian payments company QIWI announced plans to issue its own digital currency, “Bitruble,” which was publicly condemned by Russian government officials.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his views on digital currency in July this year. He believes that although digital currency technology faces various challenges in adoption, it cannot be rejected outright.

In June this year, media reported that the Russian Central Bank and representatives of the country's financial markets may hold a meeting on Bitcoin regulation.

Earlier this year, Andrei Svintsov, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, told Russian state television that digital currencies such as Bitcoin were a conspiracy orchestrated by US intelligence agencies. His remarks caused quite a stir in Russia and also had a negative impact on the situation of Bitcoin in Russia.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/russian-minister-confirms-plans-to-ban-bitcoin-to-fiat-conversions/

By Yessi Bello Perez

Translator: printemps

Editor: printemps

Source (translation): Babbitt Information