Belarus investigative authority wants right to seize cryptocurrency from criminals

Belarus wants to have the authority to confiscate cryptocurrency.

Ivan Noskevich, head of the Investigative Committee, said during an interview with a state-owned TV channel CTV that the republic has no legal regulation that allows the authority to seize cryptocurrency through enforcement and they are working to have one, Cointelegraph reported.

Noskevich admitted that they have been encountering problems while investigating criminal cases involving cryptocurrencies. He realizes that the authority needs to have the right to confiscate crypto from those who used it in crimes.

“We’ve encountered such cases before, but there was no legal regulation of the mechanism for seizing cryptocurrency. I hope that the legislators will listen to the opinion of the Investigative Committee, and such amendments will be introduced into the criminal procedure legislation,” said Noskevich.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko gave cryptocurrency a green light back in 2017. However, the country in Eastern Europe is not very active when it comes to crypto-related developments.

In June 2019, Belarus’ general prosecutor raised concerns over the role of crypto in tax evasion. Also, the state’s largest bank Belarusbank was reportedly considering setting up a cryptocurrency exchange.

While Belarus is still fighting to have the authority to confiscate crypto, many countries have been doing it already and they put the cryptocurrencies they seized on auction. In February, the United States Marshals Service (USMS), a federal law agency under the U.S. Department of Justice, auctioned over 4,000 confiscated bitcoins which was worth $37 million. The Belgian Federal government is also planning to auction $125 worth of bitcoin on March 24.

In related news, Protocol Labs General Council member Marvin Ammori said that taxing crypto is very difficult when asked if blockchain is ready for mass adoption. He even considered it a “nightmare.”

“Doing your taxes for crypto is the worst nightmare. The tax treatment is very complicated,” he said.

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