Three Russians are going to spend time in a high-security prison for stealing over a million US dollars in cryptocurrency from another man. In addition, the court has also ordered them to fully compensate the victim for damages, prosecutors announced.
Thieves Get Prison Sentence for Crypto Theft in Russia
A court in the Russian city of Omsk has delivered a verdict in a criminal case against three Moscow men who extorted a large amount of digital currency from a man in Siberia. Two of them have been found guilty of theft and falsification of documents and the third of fraud.
In July 2021, these people learned that an Omsk resident owned significant crypto funds. They traveled from the capital to the Siberian city where they followed the victim for about 10 days, examining his movements and daily routines.
On the day of the attack, the man was stopped in the street, presented with false identity papers and forced into a car. Subsequently, they took 3 million rubles ($40,000) in cash and made him transfer another 84 million rubles ($1.1 million) in cryptocurrency, the regional prosecutor’s office detailed in a statement. Press release.
The thieves were later arrested by the police, but they did not admit any guilt. According to the court ruling, they are now going to serve between six and a half and nine years in a strict correctional colony. The court also ordered them to compensate the damage caused to the victim.
There has been an increasing number of cases of prosecution of persons responsible for cryptocurrency-related crimes in Russia in recent years. In mid-February, Russian crypto media reported that two residents of another Siberian city, Tomsk, will stand trial for “grand theft” involving the theft of nearly $5 million worth of cryptocurrency from a local miner. In July 2021, masked gunmen robbed a large crypto mining facility near Moscow.
Russia is still mulling its regulatory approach towards decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, with financial restrictions imposed by the invasion of Ukraine prompting efforts to adopt rules for related activities and transactions. A bill on digital currency mining, which also addresses cryptocurrency exchange and cross-border payments, is currently under review in the Russian parliament. Cryptocurrency has previously been recognized as property.
Do you think the Russian police and judiciary will continue to prosecute criminals targeting crypto assets? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, WikiCommons, Jonas Petrovas / Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any product, service or company. bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
