The executive power in Russia has prepared a set of legal procedures that would allow law enforcement officials to confiscate crypto assets as part of criminal proceedings.

The elaborated mechanism involves recognizing cryptocurrency as property under Russia’s criminal law and details concrete steps and methods for its seizure and forfeiture by the Russian state.

Russian government approves procedures for crypto confiscation

Amendments greenlighted by the government in Moscow aim to enable investigators to seize crypto assets in criminal cases in order to prevent defendants from transferring the assets, the Russian business news portal RBC reported.

The legal changes seek to recognize cryptocurrency as property for the purposes of criminal proceedings and implement a mechanism for its confiscation. They will be introduced through a bill amending Russia’s Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

The provisions have been approved by the government’s Commission on Legislative Activity, the report unveiled, quoting a source from the cabinet who is familiar with the draft and has confirmed its contents to the Russian news outlet.

The document defines the actions investigators and inquiry officers can take in cases where digital currency, identified during preliminary investigations, has been determined to be subject to seizure and recognized as material evidence.

Two scenarios have been described. Law enforcement officials can seize the physical devices on which the coins are stored, in the case of hardware wallets, or transfer the digital assets to a secure address if they have been able to establish access to a software wallet. Investigators are expected to act according to the circumstances and the type of cryptocurrency.

Seizures should be carried out in the presence of a specialist responsible to choose the appropriate method, according to the bill’s explanatory note. Confiscation may be necessary in order to prevent the owner of the cryptocurrency or a third party from conducting transactions with it, the document elaborates.

Lack of crypto seizure rules creates challenges for law enforcement in Russia

In December 2024, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, stated that the authority is working on a bill that will recognize cryptocurrency as property and introduce procedures for its confiscation and recognition as material evidence. In March 2025, Bastrykin announced that the bill has been sent to the government for consideration.

The new legislation also aims to limit the circulation of cryptocurrency in criminal activities. But while digital assets such as Bitcoin have been already recognized as property in Russia’s anti-money laundering legislation, this has not been the case with regards to criminal law which complicated investigations into crimes involving cryptocurrencies.

This deficiency has created certain challenges for the Russian judiciary and law enforcement. Earlier in April, the head of the Federal Bailiff Service, Dmitriy Aristov, revealed that the agency was mulling over ways to convert nearly $90 million worth of seized BTC and “turn it into income for the state.”

The Bailiff’s Office got hold of the crypto as part of criminal proceedings against a former official convicted of corruption for taking a bribe in cryptocurrency. Russia is yet to legalize the circulation of cryptocurrencies in its jurisdiction, even if just for the purpose of converting confiscated coins.

Crimes involving digital currencies have been committed for quite some time, noted Vladimir Gruzdev who chairs the Board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia. He believes such assets can be seized only after they are officially recognized as property, on par with material objects and monetary funds.

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