Russia Warns Crypto Miners: 5 Years In Prison For Skipping Registration

Based on reports, Russia’s Ministry of Justice has proposed criminal penalties for people who mine digital currency without registering. The draft would add a new criminal article and set fines, forced labor and prison terms tied to how big the operation is and how much money it made. The move follows a law that made mining legal under strict rules last year.

Russia: New Criminal Article Proposed

According to the draft amendments posted on a regulatory portal, a new Article 171.6 titled “Illegal Mining Of Digital Currency And Activities Of A Mining Infrastructure Operator” would be added to the Criminal Code.

Under the proposal, an unregistered miner could face a fine of up to 1.5 million rubles, compulsory labor for up to 480 hours, or forced labor for up to two years. The draft draws a line at income thresholds: if mining generated large-scale income of 3.5 million rubles, liability applies.

For operations that are part of an organized group or that produced especially large income of 13.5 million rubles, penalties rise sharply — fine ranges from 500,000 to 2.5 million rubles, forced labor of up to five years, or imprisonment for up to five years combined with additional financial penalties.

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Registries And Monthly Reporting

Reports have disclosed that Russia legalized mining on November first, 2024, and on that date the Federal Tax Service opened special registries. All legal entities and individual entrepreneurs involved in mining must register, and operators of mining infrastructure are included.

Registered miners are required to report mined digital currency every month through a section in their personal accounts on the Federal Tax Service website. Based on the agency’s figures, there were more than 1,000 participants listed in the registries by the end of May 2025.

The draft law appears aimed at forcing visibility into a sector that has often operated in the shadows. By tying criminal penalties to failure to join the registry, authorities gain tools to pursue operators who avoid paying taxes, use subsidized power, or run large-scale farms without oversight. Smaller, informal miners are left most exposed because they may lack the paperwork or know-how to comply with reporting rules.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said the government plans to introduce criminal liability for illegal mining and illegal lending in 2026.

That comment, combined with the publication of the draft amendments, suggests phased steps: rules and registries are already in place, while tougher criminal measures could follow next year.

Some language in the draft also allows courts to impose fines equal to a convicted person’s salary or income for set periods, which would target earnings from mining operations.

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