The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has lowered Russia’s rating owing to insufficient oversight of cryptocurrencies, as indicated by regional coverage. According to RBC, this downgrade highlights escalating worries about the country’s capacity to oversee and mitigate dubious transactions within the rapidly expanding realm of digital finance. Russia’s Financial Strategy Challenged by FATF Downgrade The…
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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has downgraded Russia’s compliance rating due to its “insufficient regulation of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.” Vedomosti reported that German Neglyad, the Deputy Head of the domestic anti-money-laundering regulator Rosfinmonitoring, said the Russia FATF rating was confirmed at a plenary meeting on February 23. Russia FATF Rating: Crypto Regulation Costs…
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State Duma lawmakers have signed off on a bill that will let Russian firms and their partners use the digital ruble and “digital assets” in international settlements. Per an official State Duma release and a report from the media outlet RBC, lawmakers approved the bill in a second and third reading on February 27. State…
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Russia has proposed the development and implementation of a BRICS-wide payment system that would use central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to manage trade settlements. The BRICS bridge, as referred to by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, would address the fragmentation of the current payment system outside the West’s “unfriendly infrastructure.” Russia Hints at Using CBDC…
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Spies and “agents” from Western countries are using crypto to fund their operations, a leading Russian lawmaker claimed. Per News.ru, the comments came from Andrei Lugovoy, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, during a speech in parliament on February 20. ‘Spies Aren’t Idiots, they Use Crypto’ – Lawmaker…
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More people are using crypto in Russia than ever before, a leading Moscow-based academic has claimed. Per the Russian-language media outlet Coinspot, the comments came from Evgeny Kogan, Professor of Economic Sciences at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE). Crypto in Russia: Adoption on the Rise? Kogan claimed that “interest in cryptocurrencies”…
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The Russian Central Bank claimed “almost all” the financial scams it found last year had crypto-related elements. In an official release, the bank wrote that there had been a year-on-year rise of almost 16% in financial scams in 2023. In “almost” every case, the bank said it had detected a crypto “theme.” Russian Central Bank:…
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A leading politician thinks insufficient Russian crypto regulation is “undermining the government’s efforts to counter” Western economic sanctions. The media outlet RBC quoted Andrei Lugovoy, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, as calling Russian crypto policy “bad to disgusting.” Russian Crypto Policy Is ‘Lacking,’ Lawmaker Fumes Lugovoy was…
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Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, announced the launch of a digital financial asset and NFT trading platform. On February 2, Sberbank explained that its “digital financial assets (DFAs) platform” was open to “all individuals.” The bank added that “qualified investors” can also invest in a blockchain-powered “asset” pegged to the average cost of residential real estate…
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Russia’s digital ruble pilot is gathering pace, with 17 more banks joining the Central Bank’s CBDC project. The group of banks includes heavyweights such as Sberbank and Tinkoff, the Central Bank explained in an official statement. This represents a major coup for the Central Bank. Both Sberbank and Tinkoff pulled out of the first phase…
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