After years of extradition debates, Bitcoin (BTC) launderer Alexander Vinnik has finally been sentenced by a French court. According to a report on Monday by Novaya Gazeta, Vinnik has been sentenced to five years in prison for "money laundering as part of an organized criminal group and providing false information about the origin of the proceeds" in addition to a fine of 100,000 euro ($121,000). According to the BBC, the court partially dropped charges related to the ransomware known as Locky. As of publishing time, online reports do not specify whether Vinnik’s sentence is related to his alleged senior role …
Igor Krasnov, Russia’s new Attorney General, says that cybercrime in Russia has surged 25 times over the past five years. Krasnov made the statement during a recent meeting devoted to fighting cybercrime in Russia, according to an official statement on July 17. Only 25% of cybercrime in Russia gets solved At the event, Krasnov outlined that there have already been 225,000 cases in the first half of 2020, a 92% increase in the same timeframe from 2019. The total number of Russian cases for all of last year was just 294,000, Krasnov said. He cited a number of crimes, like …
A French commerce court has classified Bitcoin (BTC) as currency during a recent trial. Local news outlet Les Echos reported on March 5 that the Commercial Court of Nanterre decided on Feb. 26 to qualify Bitcoin as a fungible interchangeable asset that is not individualizable, just like fiat money. The ruling was part of a dispute between French cryptocurrency exchange Paymium and alternative asset investment firm BitSpread. Per the report, Paymium loaned 1,000 BTC (over $9.1 million as of press time) to BitSpread in 2014. When holding the leased 1,000 BTC, BitSpread also got hold of 1,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) …
On June 30, a Russian criminal court denied a motion to provide restitution to a victim of what would in many jurisdictions be a felony, arguing that Bitcoin (BTC), as a virtual currency, does not enjoy the same property protection as other assets. The case goes back to 2018, when the two men impersonating Federal Security Service (FSB) agents and their accomplices kidnapped the victim and forced him into giving them 5 million rubles or $90,000 in cash and 99.7 BTC — worth about $900,000 at the time. The kidnappers were sentenced to eight- and ten-year prison sentences. Virtual currencies …
A new version of Russia’s major draft bill on cryptocurrency regulation does not include criminal offense codes as lawmakers are expected to hold the bill's second reading tomorrow. According to official records of the State Duma, Russia’s legislative body, the Duma’s Committee on Financial Market has proposed the second reading of the bill “On Digital Financial Assets,” or DFA, on Tuesday. In the Russian legislative system, each bill is subject to three readings as it passes the development from draft to adoption. While the second reading is designed to sum up amendments and proposals to the draft bill, the third …