The Ukraine wants to reveal cryptocurrency wallets of politicians in Moscow, amid concerns that Russia might use digital coins to avoid sanctions. This initiative is coming as Western allies have agreed to remove some Russian banks SWIFT (the global interbank payment system).
Ukraine Government Wants to Know More About Crypto Assets Of Russian And Belarusian Officials
Kyiv authorities have launched a social media call for information on crypto wallets owned by Russian and Belarusian politicians. On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Twitter that the country’s crypto community will reward those who provide details leading to their identification.
For any information on crypto-wallets of Russian or Belarusian politicians, the Ukrainian crypto community would be happy to offer generous rewards. We must pursue and punish war crimes! To share info please contact in Telegram: https://t.co/XHidwUQ8bE.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022
Artem Afian (a lawyer who is managing the project) stated that rewards would be paid out of personal donations. Bloomberg quoted him as saying that the campaign had already received tips matching crypto addresses with political figures. They will be shared with the major cryptocurrency exchanges as well as Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics company that has been closely monitoring Russian transactions. Afian explained:
They must understand that they do not belong in Ukraine, nor in Crypto.
A second report revealed that many trading platforms have placed restrictions on users who are based in Russia Federation. Kuna, a Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange, told Forklog that it had removed all Russian ruble pairs and suspended withdrawals and deposits. Whitebit refuses to register from Russia. Cex.io does not accept or serve customers from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
In the face of Russian forces advancing, Kyiv’s government has been calling for more sanctions to Moscow. Russian politicians have been blacklisted from wallets, and Ukraine is using crypto to pay for its military operations. More than $17 million has been raised in crypto donations by the country since the initial invasion.
Meanwhile, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and several EU member states – France, Germany, and Italy – announced their commitment to remove “selected Russian banks” from the SWIFT messaging network for interbank payments.
“This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” their leaders said in a joint statement released late on Saturday.
Analysts are concerned that Russia may use cryptocurrency to bypass the increasing restrictions imposed by western countries. Russian institutions have actively worked to regulate cryptocurrency transactions, and the Ministry of Finance presented a new bill for the federal government.
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