Russia Draft Criminal Liability for Unlicensed Digital Currency Activity

The introduced text and supporting materials would add Article 171.7 to Chapter 22 of the Russian Criminal Code. The proposed offense covers activity that organizes digital-currency circulation in violation of Russian law when the conduct causes large damage to citizens, organizations, or the state, or is associated with income in a large amount.

The government’s explanatory note describes the targeted conduct as organizing digital-currency circulation without required registration or a mandatory special permission or license. It identifies intermediary services involving the accounting or storage of digital currency, purchase and sale transactions, exchanges between types of digital currency, and transfers conducted without the relevant Bank of Russia license.

The criminal provision refers to requirements established elsewhere in Russian law. Its practical reach would therefore depend on the licensing, registration, and service definitions adopted in the wider digital-currency framework.

For the base offense, the draft provides a fine of RUB 100,000 to RUB 300,000, a fine measured by one to two years of the convicted person’s income, compulsory labor for up to four years, or imprisonment for up to four years. A prison sentence could carry an additional fine of up to RUB 80,000 or up to six months of income.

An aggravated offense would apply when the conduct is committed by an organized group or involves especially large damage or income. The proposed sanctions are compulsory labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to seven years, potentially accompanied by a fine of up to RUB 1 million or up to five years of income.

• Large damage or income: more than RUB 3.5 million.
• Especially large damage or income: more than RUB 13.5 million.

The bill would amend Article 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Its explanatory materials state that preliminary investigations would be handled by investigators of the Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service, with assignment depending on the circumstances specified in the procedural code.

The government developed the criminal bill alongside Bill No. 1194918-8, “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights”. That companion measure is intended to establish the regulatory rules on which the proposed offense would rely, including a framework for licensed digital-currency services. The filing materials identify Federal Law No. 259-FZ as the existing statutory baseline for digital financial assets and digital currency.

An official Supreme Court opinion dated February 9, 2026, did not support the version reviewed. The court said the explanatory note did not adequately justify a new special offense instead of the existing general offense for unlicensed business activity. It also characterized the proposal as a blanket criminal norm that could not operate separately from the still-developing regulatory framework.

The court also questioned why the draft did not address economic-crime provisions concerning release from criminal liability after compensation for damage and limits on pretrial detention. The opinion refers to proposed Article 171.6, while the introduced bill uses Article 171.7, indicating that the numbering changed before filing.

As of June 23, 2026, the bill had not received a first-reading vote. Inclusion in an approximate July program does not establish a fixed plenary date or guarantee passage. The State Duma may amend, advance, or reject the proposal, and enacted text could differ from the introduced version. The July 1, 2027 commencement date is therefore conditional, not an operative effective date.