Russia Targets Underground Crypto Miners With Draft Law Introducing Jail Terms

The Russian Ministry of Justice has proposed introducing prison sanctions, together with imprisonment, for unlawful cryptocurrency mining, in line with draft amendments revealed on December 30 on the federal government’s portal of regulatory authorized acts.

The proposals would amend the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The newest transfer goals to formalize legal responsibility for mining digital foreign money exterior the authorized framework launched final yr. Under the draft, unlawful mining may very well be punishable by a high quality of as much as 1.5 million rubles or pressured labor for as much as two years. Offenses involving particularly massive revenue or dedicated by an organized group may carry jail phrases of as much as 5 years.

Prison, Forced Labor, Heavy Fines

As a part of the initiative, the Criminal Code can be amended with a brand new Article 171.6, titled “Illegal mining of digital foreign money and actions of a mining infrastructure operator.” The article defines unlawful mining because the extraction of digital foreign money by people or entities not included within the official state register of individuals engaged in cryptocurrency mining. Liability would come up if such exercise causes large-scale injury to residents, organizations, or the state, or if it generates revenue of no less than 3.5 million rubles.

The proposed article gives for penalties, together with obligatory labor for as much as 480 hours or pressured labor for as much as two years in instances assembly these thresholds. Tougher sanctions would apply in aggravated circumstances.

According to Part Two of the draft article, offenses dedicated by an organized group, people who end in particularly large-scale injury, or these related to particularly massive revenue of greater than 13.5 million rubles, may very well be punishable by fines starting from 500,000 to 2.5 million rubles or by fines equal to 1 to a few years of the offender’s revenue. Courts may additionally impose as much as 5 years of pressured labor or as much as 5 years in jail, with or with out a further high quality of as much as 400,000 rubles or six months’ revenue.

The proposal comes after the legalization of cryptocurrency mining in Russia, which got here into pressure in November 2024. On the identical day, the Federal Tax Service launched particular registries that required all authorized entities, particular person entrepreneurs, and operators of mining infrastructure concerned within the mining sector to register with the authorities.

According to the Federal Tax Service, greater than 1,000 individuals had been listed within the registries as of the tip of May 2025. Current guidelines additionally require all miners, together with people, to report their mined digital foreign money on a month-to-month foundation via a devoted part of the Federal Tax Service’s web site.

In early December, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated the Russian authorities plans to introduce prison legal responsibility in 2026 for unlawful cryptocurrency mining in addition to for unlawful lending.

Power Theft by Crypto Miners

The crackdown comes amid rising considerations over the pressure unlawful mining locations on Russia’s energy infrastructure. Earlier this yr, Rosseti Group, the nation’s state-owned energy grid operator, reported losses of greater than 1.3 billion rubles in 2024 on account of unauthorized “black” mining operations, significantly within the North Caucasus, Novosibirsk, and Volga areas.

Some operators ran hundreds of units and illegally drew electrical energy on an industrial scale, which prompted over 40 prison investigations.

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