Crypto crime on the rise in Russia, Supreme Court claims

Russia is struggling with a rise in crypto crime, according to a senior official of the local Supreme Court.

The comments were made by Chairperson of the Russian Supreme Court Irina Podnosova during the annual meeting of judges of general jurisdiction, military and arbitral tribunals. She said:

“With the spread of cryptocurrency in the economy, there has been a rise in crimes where the digital currency is either the means of committing the crime, the criminal income, or the object of the offense.”

Russia’s Supreme Court is planning to introduce new legislation that would recognize digital assets as property in criminal proceedings. The nation is also taking measures against illegal cryptocurrency mining, which continues to pose threats to its electric grid.

Russian state-owned news outlet TASS recently reported that Russian power company Rosseti Group found illegal crypto mining to have caused over $14 million in damages to the power grid in 2024 alone. The regions most affected by this phenomenon are the North Caucasus, Novosibirsk, and Volga.

Illegal mining operations in those regions strain the electrical infrastructure and damage industrial and household equipment. TASS also reports that Russian authorities implemented seasonal mining bans in several regions, with Deputy Head of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Grabchak noting:

“Mining soon will be prohibited at the state level in some regions.”

Grabchak further explained that electricity shortages in certain regions played a major part in the decision to go forward with the ban. He noted that the nation “already have scarce zones—this is the Far East, this is the southwest of Siberia, this is the South.” He said that power capacity in those will be limited until 2030.

The news follows late 2024 reports that a bill has made its way to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, which would make cryptocurrency taxable by the Russian government. The law in question, which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, sees trading income from cryptocurrencies being brought under the same tax rate as trading securities.

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