The second-largest city in Russia, St. Petersburg, overturned the previous ruling of the court of first instance to ban 40 Bitcoin Internet sites in the Russian Federation, reported the local newspaper RIA Novosti Tuesday, February 27.

In July 2017, the Oktyabrsky district court of St. Petersburg acceded to the appeal of the prosecutor's office of St. Petersburg

Earlier in March 2017 , prosecutors in St. Petersburg have filed a lawsuit to ban websites such as Bestchange.ru and 24paybank.com because they "broadcast information" on digital currency that "is not supported by any real estate and does not provide information about its owners. "

As a result, the Oktyabrsky District Court decided to ban 40 websites based on the argument that:

"Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are a monetary substitute contributing to the growth of the informal economy, and can not be used by citizens and legal entities in the Russian Federation Free movement of information n on digital currencies involves the active use of cryptocurrencies in the trafficking of illegal drugs, illegal weapons, forged documents and other criminal activities. "

On Tuesday, the Saint Petersburg City Court considered an appeal filed by the Moscow-based Digital Rights Center and annulled the decision, according to a press service representative. court will meet to consider the case.

On the same day, February 27, Bill Gates caused a stir at Reddit when he claimed that crypto-currencies were used to buy Cointelegraph reported earlier this week that the creator of the cryptocurrency PRISM, Yury Mayorov, had been kidnapped in Moscow and stole 300 bitcoins, or about 3 million dollars in Moscow press time, as well as $ 20,000 and three iPhones.