The State Duma has adopted a bill allowing the arrest and seizure of cryptocurrency during crime investigations. Now, law enforcement agencies will be able to officially consider digital money as property and apply coercive measures to it. This will effectively combat cybercrime and illegal asset trafficking, according to deputies.
In practice and in other branches of law, courts have long recognized digital currency as property. Criminal law is catching up in this matter. These are essential amendments because investigators and specialists needed clear instructions on how to actually seize digital currency that has become a figure in a criminal case.
The changes introduce a systematic approach for investigators, creating uniform rules for the seizure of digital currency, so that it cannot later be used by the accused or disappear from the case files. All these cases are targeted by amendments to Article 104.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
There are two models for seizing digital currency. The first is a transfer from wallet to wallet. The second is the seizure of a physical medium in the form of a cold wallet, which is attached to the case files.
The legislation provides for an assessment of the market value of cryptocurrency to calculate damages and compensate injured parties, and also establishes legal norms for interaction with foreign exchanges and platforms.
Cryptocurrency, as an object of crime, is increasingly appearing in criminal cases, experts note.
This is a reaction to a fairly large number of criminal cases where fraud related to the theft of cryptocurrency or other abuses were investigated. But there was no uniform practice on how cryptocurrency could be seized correctly, taking into account technical features.
As part of systematic work in this direction, the Central Bank has approved a new list of signs of fraudulent transfers in the digital environment. The register will be launched on January 1, 2026. One of the signs of a fraudulent transfer is supposed to establish signs of transfers of funds, including the digital ruble, without the voluntary consent of the client, including under pressure from third parties.
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