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- The Russian anti-money laundering (AML) agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has focused on transactions involving huge amounts of crypto to fiat currency conversion.
- This move comes in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s remarks in the State Duma conference to curb cross-border transactions involving digital assets.
It is an irrefutable fact that cryptocurrencies have gradually entered the mainstream economy. However, the world is still unprepared to tackle the potential issues that may arise out of large-scale adoption. Russia, for instance, had its troubles regulating cryptos before finally drafting a Bill that identifies cryptos as an individual’s property. It also proposed levying heavy penalties on individuals who fail to report their digital assets properly. In the wake of President Putin’s remarks in the State Duma assembly, the Rosfinmonitoring has begun to take extra steps to identify and curb illicit crypto transactions.
Banks’ support enlisted.
Micro-monitoring crypto-fiat transactions on a large scale, that too in an evolved ecosystem of cryptos, is virtually impossible for Rosfinmonitoring. It has neither the funds nor the manpower to undertake such a massive operation. To tackle this issue, the agency has enlisted the support of the banks and exchanges all over the country. In a statement, Herman Neglyad has acknowledged that several banks are already cooperating with the agency’s efforts. He is the deputy of the agency. At present, banks are flagging suspicious operations that come immediately after a crypto-fiat conversion and informing the AML agency. Moreover, Rosfinmonitoring will also collaborate with the central bank to introduce a code that will help banks quickly identify suspicious transactions.
Political ploy suspected
The President’s remarks in the State Duma committee came at a time when opposition leader Alex Navalny was known to use cryptos to circumvent the issue of his frozen bank accounts. The recent move may also be aimed at further crippling the opposition leader’s funds. The President had also subjectively mentioned the misuse of cryptos by certain anti-social elements and increased monitoring was justified. Neglyad was also a member of the State Duma Committee when Putin had voiced his concerns.
However, that theory remains speculative as there currently seems to be no link between the President’s earlier comments in the committee and Neglyad’s recent remarks. In any case, crypto-fiat transactions will be closely monitored in Russia.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
