Citizens of Belarus who organized a crypto exchange are being punished. Law enforcement investigators charged two Minsk residents with swapping digital assets and fiat cash, resulting in a profit of 5 million Belarusian rubles ($1.7 million).
According to the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the accused gained 3.2 million Belarusian rubles through the illegal exchange of cryptocurrencies.
He was a member of various cryptocurrency exchanges. According to authorities, a Minsk resident also transferred funds gained through illegal methods.
The second Minsk resident, who was installed by Kobrin District Department of Internal Affairs staff, was paid less – 2 million Belarusian rubles.
“Given that the actions of both persons were seen as signs of illegal entrepreneurial activity, the materials were transferred to the tax inspectorate for the Brest region. Illegally received income will be recovered to the state budget,” the Republican Ministry of Internal Affairs clarifies.
Law enforcers remind that according to Presidential Decree No. 8 “On the Development of the Digital Economy”, entrepreneurial activity in the circulation of cryptocurrency for individuals is prohibited in the country.
Earlier it was reported that two other residents of Minsk would be fined for running an illegal cryptocurrency business.