Russia Targets Underground Crypto Miners With Draft Law Introducing Jail Terms

The Russian Ministry of Justice has proposed introducing criminal sanctions, including imprisonment, for illegal cryptocurrency mining, according to draft amendments published on December 30 on the government’s portal of regulatory legal acts.

The proposals would amend the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The latest move aims to formalize liability for mining digital currency outside the legal framework introduced last year. Under the draft, illegal mining could be punishable by a fine of up to 1.5 million rubles or forced labor for up to two years. Offenses involving especially large income or committed by an organized group could carry prison terms of up to five years.

Prison, Forced Labor, Heavy Fines

As part of the initiative, the Criminal Code would be amended with a new Article 171.6, titled “Illegal mining of digital currency and activities of a mining infrastructure operator.” The article defines illegal mining as the extraction of digital currency by individuals or entities not included in the official state register of persons engaged in cryptocurrency mining. Liability would arise if such activity causes large-scale damage to citizens, organizations, or the state, or if it generates income of at least 3.5 million rubles.

The proposed article provides for penalties, including compulsory labor for up to 480 hours or forced labor for up to two years in cases meeting these thresholds. Tougher sanctions would apply in aggravated circumstances.

According to Part Two of the draft article, offenses committed by an organized group, those that result in especially large-scale damage, or those associated with especially large income of more than 13.5 million rubles, could be punishable by fines ranging from 500,000 to 2.5 million rubles or by fines equivalent to one to three years of the offender’s income. Courts could also impose up to five years of forced labor or up to five years in prison, with or without an additional fine of up to 400,000 rubles or six months’ income.

The proposal comes after the legalization of cryptocurrency mining in Russia, which came into force in November 2024. On the same day, the Federal Tax Service launched special registries that required all legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, and operators of mining infrastructure involved in the mining sector to register with the authorities.

According to the Federal Tax Service, more than 1,000 participants were listed in the registries as of the end of May 2025. Current rules also require all miners, including individuals, to report their mined digital currency on a monthly basis through a dedicated section of the Federal Tax Service’s website.

In early December, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the Russian government plans to introduce criminal liability in 2026 for illegal cryptocurrency mining as well as for illegal lending.

Power Theft by Crypto Miners

The crackdown comes amid growing concerns over the strain illegal mining places on Russia’s power infrastructure. Earlier this year, Rosseti Group, the country’s state-owned power grid operator, reported losses of more than 1.3 billion rubles in 2024 due to unauthorized “black” mining operations, particularly in the North Caucasus, Novosibirsk, and Volga regions.

Some operators ran thousands of devices and illegally drew electricity on an industrial scale, which prompted over 40 criminal investigations.

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