As per the new legislation brought into effect on March 23, the Russian Parliament has made it mandatory for politicians and participants to disclose information about their cryptocurrency funds before contesting elections. They must disclose their digital assets before running for the elections. The Russian Parliament’s lower house, State Duma, first approved this legislation. Therefore, it is now applicable to the presidential and parliamentary candidates, including the current post-holding government officials. This new legislation will come into effect days after its publication.
Amendments made by the legislation for declaring crypto assets
Other significant amendments made by the legislation for the declaration of their crypto assets include:
- The participants running for an official position will have to share their expenditure and acquisition of their digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.
- This new legislation will introduce these laws to the existing ones. This would include election to the offices of the President of the Russian Federation, the deputies in the Duma, Federation Council members, the upper house of the Parliament, as well as the political parties formed to combat corruption.
- The declaration of digital assets will also apply to the spouses and children of the eligible candidates.
- The contesting candidates must disclose every transaction made to acquire cryptocurrencies in the last three years. In case the crypto amount exceeds the family’s total income from the three years before the acquisition.
- They must show the source of these funds used for crypto-based transactions.
The Putin-led government laid the foundation of this legislation
In December 2020, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, signed an order mandating for the country’s employees to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings. This order asked employees to submit their details of cryptocurrencies and digital assets and their current value. Moreover, Russia has been actively employed in regulating the legislation of cryptocurrencies amidst the ongoing war with Ukraine.
