Russia’s top anti-money laundering regulator says it “monitors” more than 25,000 crypto users and claims to have sophisticated tools to detect illegal activity.
According the end Yury Chikhanchinthe head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), recently held a cryptocurrency-themed meeting with the President Vladimir Poutine.
Rosfinmonitoring is a federal executive body responsible for combating the financing of terrorism. It is directly affiliated with the Office of the President.
Mr Chikhanchin reportedly said that “unfortunately” the “volume of use” of “cryptocurrencies” was “increasing” in Russia.
Rosfinmonitoring’s top official said the body was “destabilized” by the growth of cryptocurrencies. He added that the agency suspected crypto-assets to be used as a tool for money laundering in many cases.
He stated :
“We are monitoring more than 25,000 individuals suspected of participating in operations [liées aux cryptomonnaies]. About ten financial organizations have been identified. We believe they are assisting these individuals.”
He claimed that Russia’s cryptocurrency “turnover” was “in the range of over 630,000 bitcoins (BTC)”.
Mr. Chikhanchin added that Rosfinmonitoring had carried out “regarding” 120 cryptocurrency investigations, which had resulted in “more than 60 criminal proceedings”.
How the Russian regulator monitors crypto users?
Mr. Chikhanchin said advances in blockchain analysis software have helped the body increase its surveillance capabilities. In 2020, the organization started using a de-anonymization solution in collaboration with the bank VTB.
This solution initially made it possible to monitor transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain protocol.
But the software’s capabilities have since grown, Chikhanchin said. He said the same tool can now be used to monitor “over 20” blockchain networks.
The regulator noted that testing with the same tool was now “under way” in other government bodies, such as the Ministry of Home Affairsthe Federal Security Service and the Investigative Committee.
Mr Chikhanchin concluded that regulators in “a number of Commonwealth of Independent States countries” have asked Rosfinmonitoring to provide them with the solution.
Earlier this week, some Russian crypto and blockchain industry executives said they wanted to meet Vladimir Putin for one-on-one discussions on cryptocurrency regulation.
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