Russian top prosecutor invites CIS countries to uniformly approach confiscation of cryptocurrency moved abroad

YEKATERINBURG. July 4 (Interfax) - Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov has invited his counterparts from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries to standardize approaches to procedures related to the seizure and confiscation of cryptocurrency.

"There are persisting high risks of using cryptocurrency for moving abroad illegal incomes, including those obtained in a corrupt way. In this context, the standardization of approaches toward regulating criminal procedures related to the seizure and confiscation of virtual assets is becoming highly relevant," Krasnov said at a meeting of an inter-state council for opposing corruption in Yekaterinburg on Tuesday.

Recently, the Prosecutor General's Office for the first time forwarded requests to relevant foreign bodies for legal assistance in criminal cases involving seizures of cryptocurrency.

"I have no doubt that, in time, the number of such requests will considerably grow, but they would be impossible to grant if every jurisdiction uses its own procedures inapplicable in the requesting country," he said.

"Considering this, I invite you, within the framework of our council, to review the practice of using cryptocurrency for committing corruption-related crimes, including as regards the legal regulation of its circulation, seizure, confiscation, and its subsequent storage and sale," Krasnov said.

He proposed distributing such a review among the inter-state council members to develop common proposals on coordinated actions.

The meeting of the inter-state council for opposing corruption was also attended by top prosecutors from Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Belarus, as well as senior officials from Tajikistan's and Kazakhstan's anti-corruption institutions.