Belarus Has Seized Millions of Dollars in Crypto, Chief Investigator Claims

Belarus Has Seized Millions of Dollars in Crypto, Chief Investigator Claims

Authorities in Belarus have mastered the seizure of cryptocurrencies, the head of the country’s Investigative Committee revealed in a recent interview. The high-ranking law enforcement official claims the state has already confiscated crypto assets worth millions of dollars. Companies Allegedly Help Belarus Government With Crypto Seizure

Belarus had to deal with the challenge of how to seize cryptocurrencies when they were first used in drug trade and later economic crimes, Dmitry Gora, who heads the nation’s Investigative Committee, told the state-run ONT channel. He added that law enforcement agencies had to find a way to confiscate such digital assets and have already seized crypto worth hundreds of millions of Belarusian rubles (millions of U.S. dollars). Dmitry Gora. Source: ONT

The former Soviet republic, a close ally of Russia, legalized various crypto activities with a presidential decree which went into force in May 2018. The document introduced tax breaks and other incentives for crypto businesses operating as residents of the Hi-Tech Park (HTP) in Minsk within efforts to develop the country’s digital economy.

In March 2021, President Alexander Lukashenko hinted at a possible tightening of the country’s crypto regulations, referring to China’s example. However, HTP officials later insisted Belarusian authorities had no intention to adopt stricter rules for the industry. What’s more, the finance ministry proposed amendments to allow investment funds to acquire digital assets.

In April of this year, the Ministry of Justice adopted a legal procedure allowing the seizure of crypto funds as part of enforcement proceedings. It implements another decree by Lukashenko from February who ordered the establishment of a special register for crypto wallets used for illicit purposes.

Dmitry Gora went on to quote his “advanced subordinates,” saying that cryptocurrency was just “digital trash.” “Based on this, I set the task: our state needs money to compensate for the damage caused. Let’s think about how to make money out of trash. I will not go into details, but we have learned how to do it… There are mechanisms that allow us to deal with these issues, and quite successfully,” he elaborated.

The law enforcement executive pointed out that both government agencies and commercial organizations are involved in the process. As a result, “the amounts that are already in the form of good, normal money are on the accounts of the Investigative Committee,” Gora stated. Tags in this story Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, belarusian, confiscation, Crypto, crypto assets, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, Decree, decrees, htp, Investigative Committee, investigator, Law Enforcement, Lukashenko, President, Regulation, Regulations, Seizure

Do you expect Belarus to change its policies regarding cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration. Sequel to Iconic RPG Ni No Kuni to Feature NFT Integration and Play-to-Earn Mechanics NEWS | 20 hours ago Report: FTX CEO Says Crypto Exchange Is Ready to Spend Billions on Acquisition Deals NEWS | 1 day ago

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Previous articleDAI Takes the Reigns as the Leading Decentralized Stablecoin by Market Capitalization Next articleFree-to-Mint NFT Collection Goblintown Is Now Worth Over $50 Million Show comments More Popular NewsIn Case You Missed ItFollowing a Brief Fee Spike, Gas Prices to Move Ethereum Drop 76% in 12 Days

Transaction fees on the Ethereum network are dropping again after average fees saw a brief spike on April 5 jumping to $43 per transfer. 12 days later, average ether fees are close to dropping below $10 per transaction and median-sized ... read more.Today"s Top Ethereum and Bitcoin Mining Devices Continue to Rake in Profits SEC Risks Violating Admin Procedure Act by Rejecting Spot Bitcoin ETFs, Says Grayscale Bill ‘On Digital Currency’ Caps Crypto Investments for Russians, Opens Door for Payments Privacy-Centric Monero Plans for July Hard Fork, Plans Include Ring Signature, Bulletproof Upgrade