Individuals in Belarus could be subject to stiff fines for illegally conducting cryptocurrency exchanges. The authorities in the nation, which recognize certain cryptographic activities as legitimate, do not plan to impose any extra penalties.

Crypto Investor Tries To Dispute Penalty In Belarusian Court

The Supreme Court of the Republic Of Belarus declined the Belarusian’s appeal against a lower court’s decision that he must pay a fine of 2,700,000 Belarusian rubles (roughly $1 million). The man, referred to only as the initial “A,” is accused of using the Telegram Messenger to create an online crypto exchanger in January 2021 and earning 5,400,000 rubles from illegal operations.

A report from the Belarusian Ministry Of Taxes And Duties, referred to by Crypto News Outlet Bits.media, allowed investigators to trace their transactions and submit the evidence gathered to the judiciary. The judge handed down a fine at the Minsk Economic Court.

The department believes that the forfeiture of half his gains was fair as the court could have ordered him to pay the full amount. Although the trader did not disagree with the illegality and nature of his business, the trader was dissatisfied with the amount of the penalty and decided to file an appeal at a higher court. The higher court upheld the original sentence.

Belarus legalized crypto-related activities, such as mining and trading, with a decree signed by President Alexander Lukashenko in 2018 provided they were conducted by entities registered under the Hi-Tech Park Tax and legal regimes that are unique to Belarus.

Nevertheless, the government is cracking down on illicit crypto activities. In May last year, the head of the Investigative Committee revealed that millions of dollars worth of digital assets linked to criminal activities were confiscated by the nation’s law enforcement agencies.

In August, the Belarusian authorities issued an international arrest warrant against the owner of the country’s “largest crypto exchange,” Bitok.me. Following a two-year investigation, Vladislav Kuchinsky was charged with large-scale tax evasion along with three accomplices.

Do You think there is potential for the Belarusian Government to relax crypto regulations in the future Tell Leave a comment in the section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev A tech-savvy Eastern European journalist who loves journalism Hitchens’ quote: “Being a writer is who I am, more than what I do.” In In addition to crypto, fintech and blockchain, there are also international politics and economics as sources of inspiration.