Belarus Has Seized Millions of Dollars in Crypto, Chief Investigator Claims

Dmitry Gora of Belarus’ Investigative Committee said that the country had to face the problem of seizing cryptocurrencies after they were used for drug trade and then later as economic crimes. Dmitry Gora said that law enforcement agencies needed to find a way of confiscating such digital assets. They have already seized crypto in the amount of hundreds of millions of Belarusian Rubles (millions of dollars).

A presidential decree, which was issued in May 2018, legalized crypto activities in the former Soviet republic, an ally of Russia. In an effort to boost the country’s digital economy, the document provided tax breaks and other incentives to crypto businesses that are residents at the Hi-Tech Park ( TTP).

Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, hinted that there might be a tightening in crypto regulations. He was referring to China’s. HTP officials later stated that Belarusian authorities did not intend to adopt any stricter rules. The finance ministry also proposed amends to enable investment funds the acquisition of digital assets.

The Ministry of Justice approved in April a legal procedure that allows the seizing of crypto funds. It implements another Lukashenko decree from February, which directed establishment of a special registry for crypto wallets that are used for illegal purposes.

Dmitry Gora continued to quote his “advanced underordinates”, saying that cryptocurrency was just “digital garbage.” “Based on this, we set the task: Our state needs money in order to repair the damage done. Let’s look at how we can make money from trash. We have learned how to make money from trash. I won’t go into detail, but I won’t. He explained that there are mechanisms that can help us deal with these issues and have succeeded in doing so.

According to the law enforcement executive, both commercial and government agencies are involved in this process. Gora stated that the Investigative Committee has access to the amounts in good, normal money.