The Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet Union's KGB, arrested a resident of the far eastern city of Khabarovsk on the count of treason. The suspect allegedly sent crypto funds to Ukrainian armed forces through Ukraine-based middlemen.
The news was reported by the TASS agency which also released the video of the arrest. According to the FSB, the assets were transferred to fund the purchase of drones, night vision devices, missiles, and medical supplies.
According to official data, the number of criminal cases of treason sharply increased in March this year, with nine filed in a month. In almost half of all cases, the defendants hail from the Far East region of Russia. Detainees were reported in Khabarovsk, Primorsky Krai, and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
In April, the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) passed amendments introducing a life sentence for high treason. Nearly all cases in this category are classified as "secret," with lawyers forced to act under non-disclosure agreements, preventing leaking details to the media.
Current regulations in Russia don't favor the crypto industry. Since January 2021, cryptocurrency owners, both individual and legal entities, engaging in transactions exceeding 600,000 rubles ($7,757) within a calendar year are required to report their wallet balances to the Russian tax authorities.
In July 2022, Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other digital assets for payment for goods and services. Later, Russian authorities revealed plans to run a state-owned crypto exchange but gave them up n May this year to focus on developing rules for existing platforms.
Allegedly, new regulations will be focused on making it easier for private companies to build cryptocurrency exchanges.
