Courts in Russia are hearing a growing number of cases around crypto assets, a new study has shown. About two-thirds of them have been launched under provisions of the country’s Criminal Code but civil cases represent a large share as well.
Lawsuits related to cryptocurrency, exchange of digital assets and coin minting have seen a serious increase in Russia over the course of last year, reaching a total of 1,531. The number comes from research conducted by the cybersecurity company RTM Group and quoted by Izvestia this week.
The majority of these, 954 cases, have been initiated under various articles of the Russian Criminal Code, the daily wrote on Friday. Another quarter of the proceedings, 365, are civil cases, almost one in 10 (141) is a bankruptcy, and 5% (71) are administrative cases, the article detailed.
The authors of the study note that most often cryptocurrency appears in criminal cases related to drug trafficking as those behind such deals would like their payments to remain anonymous — 738 such cases were filed last year. Other criminal proceedings include the laundering of illicit funds using digital coins.
Claims against unjust enrichment through crypto transactions form the majority of civil law disputes (42 cases). A common scenario is when a person transfers money to a third party to buy cryptocurrency but later receives a smaller amount than expected or agreed.
Meanwhile, the number of bankruptcy cases related to ownership of cryptocurrency has doubled in 2021, the researchers revealed. In these proceedings, the Russian judiciary refers to crypto assets as property and the sides are required to provide documents proving they own the coins.
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