A government official has proposed a law which would force Russians to report any crypto transactions above $9,000. The parliament has now to decide how to proceed next.

Official Operators Would be Monitoring All Cryptocurrency Transactions

Russia’s Head of the Main Directorate for Drug Trafficking, Andrey Khaprov, has allegedly submitted a request to the Russian parliament. If his application is approved, crypto users in Russia will be forced to report all their transactions to the government, provided these exceed the designated threshold.

As part of his proposal, law enforcement agencies would be allowed to monitor and register the cryptocurrency users. While $9,000 doesn’t seem that small of an amount, many traders will be affected by the new law.

The New Bill Declares War on Crypto-Financed Terrorist Activities

The plan states cryptocurrency transactions would have to be processed through licensed operators which would work under strict anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) policies. Khaprov’s focus is on reducing cybercrime and minimizing terrorist funding.

Khaprov has appealed to the Ministry of Finance for support which has since backed his plan. The Russian official emphasized how easily terrorists can cashout laundered money using cryptocurrencies since there is no monitoring on digital transactions, at the moment.

Not All Ministries are in Favor of Khaprov’s Proposed Bill

Savva Shipov, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, has expressed contrary views to those of Khaprov. Unlike the Ministry of Finance, Shipov believes cryptocurrencies are still in its early stages. The minister stated the time has yet to come for the government to go after crypto-related criminal activities.

Shipov said she’s waiting for the bill’s second reading, as that’s when the rules will be discussed at length. The idea is to discuss which rules will be applied to crypto criminals and how would these be carried out, once the bill passes.

According to the current legislation, the Rubble is the only recognized currency within the national territory. Russia has yet to issue any regulation on cryptocurrencies.