Less than a week after the country’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov suggested that Russia would inevitably legalize crypto as a form of payment, the City Court of St. Petersburg made a ruling that officially recognized digital assets.

Russian Court Recognizes Crypto As A Form Of Payment

Yevgeny Piron and Piron were sent to prison by the City Court of St. Petersburg Pyotr for taking nearly $1 million worth of digital assets.

Russian media reported that the court decision recognized cryptocurrency as payment. It was given by the victim of extortion.

Shemet was threatened with criminal prosecution by the perpetrators in 2018, who were acting as law enforcement officers to get money.

The duo, which were not security officers in real life, staged a fake arrest and extorted $5 million (or $90,000.00 USD) as well as 55 million rubles ($1,000,000 USD) of digital assets in Shemet.

Because Russia has yet to place legal restrictions around digital assets, the court did not declare the first ruling to be crypto-extorted. After an appeal, however, the court of city issued a revised verdict that acknowledged crypto as a method for payment.

Flipside

• Russian law enforcement officials have uncovered, and are further investigating a crypto mining farm at Butyrka, Russia’s oldest prison.

What You Need to Care About

The prosecutor’s office of St. Petersburg said that the ruling will serve as a precedent for the Russian government’s future decision on the legal status of and other digital assets.

Find more information on Russia’s consideration of crypto below:

Russia will approve Bitcoin as legal currency

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