Belarus issues international arrest warrant for owner of country's 'largest cryptocurrency exchange'

Golden Finance reported that Belarusian authorities recently completed a criminal investigation of three residents of the city of Lida who helped the owner of an illegal cryptocurrency exchange platform. tax evasion. Vladislav Kuchinsky, who managed Bitok.me (formerly Bitok.by) for two years, has been charged with "particularly large-scale tax evasion" and placed on an international wanted list.

In total, Bitok’s operators conducted nearly 8,000 transactions involving digital currencies totaling more than $29 million, a press release detailed. Tax evasion due to their activities is estimated to have cost the state budget more than 9 million Belarusian rubles (over $3.5 million at current exchange rates). (news.bitcoin)

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Foreign media: Belarus may impose foreign exchange restrictions or push citizens to adopt cryptocurrencies: Protests and strikes continue after a disputed election brought incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko back to power. According to a Telegram post by Belarus Economy, a channel with 29,000 members, the Lukashenko regime will launch a crackdown on forex and banking activities. The author of the post claims that drastic measures are being considered in Minsk, whereby all foreign exchange purchases will be banned except those approved by intelligence agencies, including a ban on transactions with foreign partners, a ban on trade transactions using foreign currencies, and the establishment of a An agency with the power to freeze and block international transactions. Some argue that if banks cooperate in the aforementioned scheme, citizens’ assets could become essentially worthless, leading them to seek out alternatives such as cryptocurrencies.

According to previous news, Lukashenko won re-election on August 9 with more than 80% of the votes against the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. However, officials from a number of countries and within Belarus have condemned the election results as flawed, with reports that the ballots were falsified. Since the legalization of cryptocurrencies and ICOs in December 2017, Lukashenko has made numerous statements in support of blockchain technology. He has also proposed using excess energy from the country's first nuclear power plant, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020, to mine and sell cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. (Cryptonews) [2020/8/24]

Today in History | Belarus Recognizes Bitcoin as a Legal Currency: 1. On December 26, 2017, the Belarusian government officially recognized Bitcoin as a legal currency with the approval of its President Alexander Lukashenko , and has legalized initial coin offerings, smart contracts, and blockchain development.

2. On December 26, 2017, the Israeli Ministry of Finance and Central Bank are studying the possibility of issuing a national digital currency called "Digital Shekel". According to the report, regulators have been considering the legal parameters for issuing a central bank cryptocurrency for "several months", while authorities may provide a legal framework for the launch of a state-backed "crypto shekel" in January 2018.

3. On December 26, 2017, Sycamore Entertainment Group, an innovator in the field of hybrid film and entertainment distribution, announced the launch of MediaCoin LLC in cooperation with Freiberger (Freiberger). MediaCoin is a media rights management application using blockchain technology. [2018/12/27]

Large blockchain conference to be held in Minsk, Belarus Experts from CIS countries and Europe are expected to attend: On February 27, a large blockchain and Bitcoin conference will be held in Minsk, Belarus. Experts from the CIS countries and Europe are expected to attend the blockchain conference. The participants include founders of large start-ups, investors, entrepreneurs, traders and lawyers. [2018/2/11]