Bitrabo Editorial
A recent report by local media outlet Kommersant revealed that Marat Tambiev, a government official responsible for the investigative department of the Moscow Committee of the ICR, had allegedly received a Bitcoin bribe of 1,032.1 BTC worth $28 million at today’s market price. Tambiev reportedly collected the bribe from hacker group members he was investigating, and the case is now the most significant single bribery case ever recorded in Russia.
Russian Prosecutors Take Action Against Marat Tambiev
Russian prosecutors were investigating Tambiev for allegations of corrupt practices when they discovered he had 1,032.1 BTC in his custody. During a search of his apartment, prosecutors found an Apple MacBook Pro laptop containing a picture of a paper with codes to access BTC coins. Further investigation revealed that Tambiev had received the Bitcoin in April 2022 from a hacker group called “Infraud Organization.” Tambiev was allegedly collecting the bribe in exchange for not seizing the group’s assets during his investigations. As a result of the bribe and other allegations of corrupt practices, Tambiev’s appointment was terminated by the investigative department.
By the Basmanny Court decision, the investigator seized the Bitcoin and transferred it to a hardware wallet in the storage room for the TFR physical evidence.
Russian Crypto Usage and Regulation
According to Tripple A, over 14.6 million Russians now own cryptocurrency with Ethereum being the highest-owned asset by 32% of the holders. Bitcoin is in second place, owned by 30.8% of crypto holders in Russia. Other coins owned by Russians include Solana, Ripple, and Dogecoin with more women than men owning the assets.
The Russian government planned to launch crypto exchanges in Q2 of 2023 but canceled the plans to launch and is now going to regulate crypto exchanges in Russia. The State Duma Committee on the financial market head Anatoly Aksakov disclosed the country’s plans to formulate rules to guide the establishment of crypto exchanges in Russia.
Other evidence of Russian exposure to crypto includes the government’s support for Bitcoin mining, placing it second after the US in 2023. In another development, a top Russian bank Rosbank completed its first cross-border crypto transaction after the Russian Central Bank hinted at allowing cryptocurrency for international settlements.