Проблемы квалификации преступлений, сопряженных с использованием криптовалют

Проанализированы положения законодательства различных юрисдикций, позиции судов и международных организаций, а также мнения отдельных правоведов касательно правового статуса цифровых валют и актуальных проблем их квалификации, в частности рассмотрения криптовалют в качестве предмета, средства и способа совершения преступлений. Отмечается увеличение угроз и рисков, связанных с финансовыми преступлениями с использованием нефиатных денежных средств. Актуализируется необходимость совместных усилий по созданию международного единообразного стандарта регулирования применения цифровых технологий и легального оборота виртуальных активов в киберпространстве.

The main problem of the article is the problem of criminal law qualification of crimes in which cryptocurrency acts both as an object and as a means of committing criminal acts. The authors, using a comparative legal research method, analyze aspects of anonymity of transactions with digital currencies, the use by competent authorities of tools for tracking transactional data, including mixing services. The article pays attention to the need for a uniform use of the terms “cryptocurrency”, “digital currency”, “digital asset”, “virtual currency”, “digital financial asset”, “electronic money”, including as an object of law (other property) and legal means of payment in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation of the Russian Federation and judicial practice. Particular attention is paid to issues related to the turnover of digital (virtual) assets, and, above all, the definition of conditional “danger signals”, which should serve as a serious reason for doubts on the part of financial organizations and relevant competent (authorized/su-pervisory) authorities, for example, non-compliance with generally accepted “compliance” standards and “know your customer” requirements when dealing with crypto-currencies regarding their potential use for the purpose of money laundering and/or terrorist financing in the context of Articles 174, 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The article also touches upon crimes for the purpose of embezzlement/appropriation of digital currencies according to the interpretations of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as market manipulation (Article 185.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and causing property damage by deception or abuse of trust (Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The authors note that, despite the actual prohibition of the dissemination of information about transactions in digital currencies, fiscal domestic legislation regulates the taxation of presumed illegal activities. As a conclusion, the authors of the article state that, since transactions with digital (virtual) assets are carried out in cyberspace, they are thus distinguished by their cross-border nature with a potential multi-jurisdictional presence. Taking into account the above, according to the authors, such criminal activity should be considered and qualified on the basis of joint international legal efforts to create a standard for a regulatory and restrictive regime for the legal circulation of crypto-currencies, for coordinating efforts to effectively comply with transparency and control requirements to prevent economic crimes.