The Supreme Court will determine whether to distribute information about Bitcoin in the Russian Federation
Over the past five years, Roskomnadzor has blocked about 275,000 different sites, including 97,000 sites blocked by court decisions declaring information prohibited for distribution in Russia. More than 40 cryptocurrency websites have been blocked on the territory of the Russian Federation. The owners of one of these sites Bitcoininfo.ru did not agree with the court decision - and they got to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
The owners of the resource are represented by the leading lawyer of the Roskomsvoboda project, a partner of the law firm Digital Rights Center Sarkis Darbinyan. He told RBC that this is the first complaint about the legality of blocking a bitcoin resource that the Supreme Court will consider. The process is really unique. The question is whether it is possible to disseminate information on the “surrogate” in the Russian Federation under the name of bitcoin, which “undermines the constitutional system and authority of Russia”, as determined by the court of first instance.
July 18, 2016 Vyborgsky District Court of St. Petersburg ruled
on the case â„– 2-10119 / 2016 ~ M-9635/2016 . The lawsuit was filed by the prosecutor of the Vyborg district, who demanded Roskomnadzor to block access.
As stated in the court decision, the site contains information about Bitcoin electronic currency, which is a “virtual means of payment and accumulation”. The court decided that this information violates the provisions of the law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation” . By law, the official currency in Russia is the ruble, and the introduction of other currencies and the issuance of money substitutes are prohibited.
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Moreover, this information "undermines the constitutional structure and authority" of Russia, as well as the "foundations of the material well-being of citizens" of the country , and "violates the rights and legitimate interests of an indefinite number of people who gain access to illegal information, and therefore is subject to restriction."
Similar formulations were used by the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg, which in May 2017 decided to limit access to 40 similar sites. “Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoins, are money substitutes, contribute to the growth of the shadow economy and cannot be used by citizens and legal entities in Russia. The free dissemination of information about e-currency conditions the active use of cryptocurrency in the traffic in drugs, weapons, forged documents and other criminal activities, ”said the decision of the court of first instance. But on February 27, 2018, it became known that the St. Petersburg City Court overturned this decision and sent the case for a new consideration.
The lawyer of the Roskomsvoboda project Sarkis Darbinyan points out that the case against Bitcoininfo.ru was initiated by the district prosecutor - and as happens in such cases, the site administration learned about the trial only when they were put on the black list of Roskomnadzor, and the monthly appeal period has already expired. Therefore, the owners decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. They argue their position as follows: the current legislation does not prohibit the dissemination of information about cryptocurrency, electronic money and new technologies for mutual settlements, and the site did not offer any transactions between participants on its platform.
On February 16, the case was transferred to the judicial division in administrative affairs of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The hearings are scheduled for March 21, 2018 at 11:00 in the courtroom No. 5038. Production 78-17-101 .
In the meantime, the authorities are preparing a draft law “On money substitutes”, in which they will toughen the responsibility for the circulation of cryptocurrencies: “Yes, there will be (criminal liability - IF). The text of the bill, it is agreed, but I have slowed it down. It seems to me that there is a risk that innocent people will suffer, ” said Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev during a conference called“ Crypt Media ”organized by Vnesheconombank. - The only means of calculation is the ruble. If you pay off with something else, then you bear administrative responsibility, not very big. If you organized with a group within the criminal community such a money substitute, which was deliberately intended to replace the calculations in rubles, even if it did not incur tax or other losses and was not recognized as fraud, then it is criminalized. Exactly like the pyramids. ”
Apparently, for the unauthorized mining and trading without paying taxes, there is a maximum administrative liability (fine): “No one is going to put people who mine bitcoins or trade, ” Moiseev explained .
Meanwhile, on February 27, 2018, Germany freed cryptocurrencies from taxation , equating them to fiat currencies as a means of payment.
The owners of the resource are represented by the leading lawyer of the Roskomsvoboda project, a partner of the law firm Digital Rights Center Sarkis Darbinyan. He told RBC that this is the first complaint about the legality of blocking a bitcoin resource that the Supreme Court will consider. The process is really unique. The question is whether it is possible to disseminate information on the “surrogate” in the Russian Federation under the name of bitcoin, which “undermines the constitutional system and authority of Russia”, as determined by the court of first instance.
What is Bitcoininfo.ru blocked for?
July 18, 2016 Vyborgsky District Court of St. Petersburg ruled
on the case â„– 2-10119 / 2016 ~ M-9635/2016 . The lawsuit was filed by the prosecutor of the Vyborg district, who demanded Roskomnadzor to block access.
As stated in the court decision, the site contains information about Bitcoin electronic currency, which is a “virtual means of payment and accumulation”. The court decided that this information violates the provisions of the law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation” . By law, the official currency in Russia is the ruble, and the introduction of other currencies and the issuance of money substitutes are prohibited.
')
Moreover, this information "undermines the constitutional structure and authority" of Russia, as well as the "foundations of the material well-being of citizens" of the country , and "violates the rights and legitimate interests of an indefinite number of people who gain access to illegal information, and therefore is subject to restriction."
Similar formulations were used by the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg, which in May 2017 decided to limit access to 40 similar sites. “Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoins, are money substitutes, contribute to the growth of the shadow economy and cannot be used by citizens and legal entities in Russia. The free dissemination of information about e-currency conditions the active use of cryptocurrency in the traffic in drugs, weapons, forged documents and other criminal activities, ”said the decision of the court of first instance. But on February 27, 2018, it became known that the St. Petersburg City Court overturned this decision and sent the case for a new consideration.
The lawyer of the Roskomsvoboda project Sarkis Darbinyan points out that the case against Bitcoininfo.ru was initiated by the district prosecutor - and as happens in such cases, the site administration learned about the trial only when they were put on the black list of Roskomnadzor, and the monthly appeal period has already expired. Therefore, the owners decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. They argue their position as follows: the current legislation does not prohibit the dissemination of information about cryptocurrency, electronic money and new technologies for mutual settlements, and the site did not offer any transactions between participants on its platform.
On February 16, the case was transferred to the judicial division in administrative affairs of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The hearings are scheduled for March 21, 2018 at 11:00 in the courtroom No. 5038. Production 78-17-101 .
In the meantime, the authorities are preparing a draft law “On money substitutes”, in which they will toughen the responsibility for the circulation of cryptocurrencies: “Yes, there will be (criminal liability - IF). The text of the bill, it is agreed, but I have slowed it down. It seems to me that there is a risk that innocent people will suffer, ” said Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev during a conference called“ Crypt Media ”organized by Vnesheconombank. - The only means of calculation is the ruble. If you pay off with something else, then you bear administrative responsibility, not very big. If you organized with a group within the criminal community such a money substitute, which was deliberately intended to replace the calculations in rubles, even if it did not incur tax or other losses and was not recognized as fraud, then it is criminalized. Exactly like the pyramids. ”
Apparently, for the unauthorized mining and trading without paying taxes, there is a maximum administrative liability (fine): “No one is going to put people who mine bitcoins or trade, ” Moiseev explained .
Meanwhile, on February 27, 2018, Germany freed cryptocurrencies from taxation , equating them to fiat currencies as a means of payment.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/358038/
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