Russian Law Would Send Bitcoin Users to Jail as Cybercriminals

[bryant.coleman]

I am not much worried about the Bitcoin ban, as it is not possible to ban the crypto-currency. How the Russian authorities are going to enforce the ban? If they want to ban Bitcoin, then they will have to ban the internet altogether. If some Russian national uses a US-based VPN to transact his coins, how the Russian authorities are going to track him?

[Wendigo]

I guess if some Russian individuals try to buy coins with a VPN from a foreign exchange they would be able to, but the real problem is how they will manage to exchange the coins for Rubles in Russia if there are no local exchanges or Bitcoin ATM. One could try to exchange Bitcoin in a neighboring country for local currency then convert to Rubles at home because there will be no paper trail or try an illegal underground peer-to-peer exchange in Russia.

[Whosdaddy]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/russian-law-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-as-cybercriminals

Russia is planning to punish users of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying anonymous, difficult to trace transactions help kidnappers and money launderers.

The Finance Ministry in Moscow plans to submit legislation next month that would punish those who use digital currencies with fines as high as 2.5 million rubles ($38,000) and jail sentences of up to seven years. As opponents criticize such regulations as futile in the face of the growing popularity of bitcoin, Russia joins countries including Bolivia, Iceland and Vietnam in taking steps to criminalize it.

“Bitcoin can be used to finance the shadow economy and crimes, and this risk we cannot allow in the Russia’s financial system, which we are striving to make transparent and healthy,” the press service of the central bank said in an e-mail.

But the usage of bitcoin is anonymous , how will their government know that their particular citizen is adopting bitcoin and doing transactions and other payments with it? I don’t thisk that they will send to jail any of them.

But they will fail in doing that because if the Russians want to run with the world with the same pace they would have to adopt bitcoin as the current system of online business is shifting to bitcoin and those who do not have bitcoin will not have access to it.

[BitcoinSupremo]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/russian-law-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-as-cybercriminals

Russia is planning to punish users of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying anonymous, difficult to trace transactions help kidnappers and money launderers.

The Finance Ministry in Moscow plans to submit legislation next month that would punish those who use digital currencies with fines as high as 2.5 million rubles ($38,000) and jail sentences of up to seven years. As opponents criticize such regulations as futile in the face of the growing popularity of bitcoin, Russia joins countries including Bolivia, Iceland and Vietnam in taking steps to criminalize it.

“Bitcoin can be used to finance the shadow economy and crimes, and this risk we cannot allow in the Russia’s financial system, which we are striving to make transparent and healthy,” the press service of the central bank said in an e-mail.

But the usage of bitcoin is anonymous , how will their government know that their particular citizen is adopting bitcoin and doing transactions and other payments with it? I don’t thisk that they will send to jail any of them.

But they will fail in doing that because if the Russians want to run with the world with the same pace they would have to adopt bitcoin as the current system of online business is shifting to bitcoin and those who do not have bitcoin will not have access to it.

I have already told this, Bitcoin cannot be banned , a user can bypass government restriction by using TAILS OS (Linux) which has electrum preinstalled and TOR , you can write down in a piece of paper or usb the seed of this wallet, and can restore it everytime you need to use it. So yes thats the beauty of bitcoin, it cannot be banned no matter what governments do.

[bitconerian]

^^^
Doubt Mom is up for carrying around a laptop, booting TAILS and typing in the seed every time she goes shopping, but I could be wrong.

[leopard2]

before we put too much blame on Russia...it is Germany, not Russia, that is stopping people from selling their bitcoins at localbitcoins.com

so far, the German Bafin (a Fincen like suborg of German government Mafia, responsible for making sure the governments gets the maximum benefit out of financial markets, and maximum control over their peons) has hurt BTC more than the Russian government. Germany the so-called democracy, has done worse than Russia...

See for yourself: so-called free democracy with so-called social capitalism in place:

https://localbitcoins.com/country/DE

Unfortunately LocalBitcoins is currently not available in your selected region. Please look for other location or come back later.

https://localbitcoins.com/country/RU

countless ads, no problem.

[franky1]

7 pages of theory yet i dont see anyone using the facts of the Duma report..

[Blacula X]

7 pages of theory yet i dont see anyone using the facts of the Duma report..

Huh?

[GamingBro]

Another fact that russian goverment is conservative and for me banning bitcoin is so stupid cause i can't see nothing bad on it. Better to work with other problems i think.

[Blacula X]

7 pages of theory yet i dont see anyone using the facts of the Duma report..

Huh?

the report that media is talking about..

You sound ...unwell. This thread is about this Bloomberg article http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/russian-law-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-as-cybercriminals .
The phrase "Duma report" is used 0 times in that article.  Even the word Duma is used 0 times.  Heck, even the word "report," which is a darn common word, occurs exactly zero times.

What shitty recreational neurotoxin made you think the article references some Duma report?

[franky1]

7 pages of theory yet i dont see anyone using the facts of the Duma report..

Huh?

the report that media is talking about..

You sound ...unwell. This thread is about this Bloomberg article http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/russian-law-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-as-cybercriminals .
The phrase "Duma report" is used 0 times in that article.  Even the word Duma is used 0 times.  Heck, even the word "report," which is a darn common word, occurs exactly zero times.

What shitty recreational neurotoxin made you think the article references some Duma report?

if you knew what proposed russian legislation that the artile thinks would treat bitcoiners as criminals, then you would know..

the duma report is the draft legislation which is what everyone is afraid of.. but if you actually read it. its not that scary.

the problem is that media hasnt read the report hense why as you have proved.. they cant even quote it or refer to it. all they do is play a game of 'chinese whispers' where they say something someone else said who heard it from someone else and each time it gets a little bit more misinterpreted..

so next time dont blindly read media.. FIND THE SOURCE!!

[Blacula X]

if you knew what proposed russian legislation that the artile thinks would treat bitcoiners as criminals, then you would know..
the duma report is the draft legislation which is what everyone is afraid of.
< >
 FIND THE SOURCE!!

So you're telling me some "Duma report" never mentioned in the Bloomberg article is the source of that article? Are you absolutely sure it's not The Protocols of the Elders of Zion? Because those aren't mentioned in the article either.

My ninja Googling immediately led me to https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/a-7-yr-prison-term-for-bitcoin-use-says-russian-finance-ministry/ , which sourced its info from http://www.interfax.ru/business/497887 .
The Bloomberg article doesn't cite its sources, but I do trust it an asshair more than bitcointalk's own Russian criminal law authority, franky1.

[mki8]

this is just good news
Russia telling criminal organisations that they should be using bitcoin to luander their millions
this will only drive up its use by people moving big amounts
so good for btc price

[quintiilieo]

Another fact that russian goverment is conservative and for me banning bitcoin is so stupid cause i can't see nothing bad on it. Better to work with other problems i think.

RUSSIAN Government have reason to do it with their own country. The first reason i knew, bitcoin is usig in illegal transaction like buying illegal stuff, weapons, and drugs. Second thing that they possible thinking if they banned bitcoin many criminals in their country cant transact safely.

[Pierre 2]

This seems to me that russian incomes are somekinda low
So using bitcoin will create strange unbalanced situation in.

[mki8]

The sad thing is that this will only stop the normal users from using bitcoin. The criminals who were using it before won't stop using it because the government says so.

on the good side, it will help increase bitcoins value, just like anything else that is made illegal

[Enotche]

It is not true. Rather, this is no longer true. Previously crazy deputies thought about it, but gradually their brains began to appear.
If you are interested in Russia think of Bitcoin I created a great post, here it is - "The situation with cryptocurrency in Russia" https://steemit.com/russia/@ratel/the-situation-with-cryptocurrency-in-russia
In it I described the situation by date by date.