Authorities in Belarus have mastered the seizure of cryptocurrencies, the head of the country’s investigative committee revealed in a recent interview. Highly placed law enforcement official claims that the state has already confiscated millions of dollars worth of crypto assets.
Companies Allegedly Helping Belarus Government With Crypto Seizures
The head of the country’s investigative committee, Dmitry Gora, told state-run ONT channel that Belarus had to deal with the challenge of how to seize cryptocurrencies when they were first used in the drug trade and later in economic crimes. He added that law enforcement agencies will have to find a way to seize such digital assets and have already confiscated hundreds of millions of Belarusian rubles (millions of US dollars) worth of cryptocurrency.
The former Soviet republic, a close ally of Russia, legalized various crypto activities with a presidential decree that came into force in May 2018. The document introduced tax breaks and other incentives for crypto businesses operating as residents of Hi-Tech Park (HTP). in Minsk as part of efforts to develop the country’s digital economy.
In March 2021, President Alexander Lukashenko indicated a possible tightening of the country’s crypto regulations, citing the example of China. However, HTP officials later stressed that Belarusian authorities have no intention of adopting strict rules for the industry. In addition, the finance ministry proposed amendments to allow investment funds to acquire digital assets.
In April of this year, the Ministry of Justice adopted a legal process that allows confiscation of crypto funds as part of enforcement proceedings. This implements another decree by Lukashenko from February that ordered the establishment of a special register for crypto wallets used for illegal purposes.
Dmitry Gora, citing his “advanced subordinates”, said that cryptocurrency was just “digital garbage”. “Based on this, I set the task: our state needs money to compensate for the loss. Let’s consider how to make money from garbage. I will not go into details, but we have learned how to do it … there are mechanisms that allow us to deal with these issues, and quite successfully, ”he explained.
The law enforcement executive explained that both government agencies and commercial organizations are involved in the process. As a result, “the amount which is already in the form of good, normal money is in the accounts of the investigative committee,” said Gora.
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