The Russian Ministry of Justice has proposed additions to the Criminal Code introducing criminal penalties for illegal cryptocurrency mining. The draft supplements Article 171 on illegal entrepreneurship and includes fines and criminal sanctions for individuals and organized groups engaged in mining without registration in legally mandated registries.
New Amendments to the Criminal Code
The Ministry of Justice's initiative formally includes mining and related infrastructure under the provisions applied to illegal entrepreneurship. The draft explicitly specifies fines—up to 1.5 million rubles for individual offenses and up to 2.5 million rubles for actions by organized groups.
Fines and Alternative Punishments
For conducting mining activities or providing infrastructure without registry inclusion, if these acts caused significant damage or involved large income extraction, a fine of up to 1.5 million rubles and mandatory labor up to 480 hours is proposed. For the same actions committed by an organized group causing especially large damage or especially large income, fines ranging from 500,000 to 2.5 million rubles are foreseen, along with possible forced labor or imprisonment for up to five years.
Conditions for Punishment for Illegal Mining
The key criterion is activity without registry inclusion causing significant or especially significant damage or generating large income. This means that applying the proposed sanctions depends on the combination of unregistered activity and the scale of damage or income, as specified in the amendments.
Mining Regulation in Russia
Basic industry regulation was adopted in July 2024; the law defines terms such as "mining," "mining pool," "mining infrastructure operator," and "digital currency circulation organization." These definitions form the basis for further criminal and administrative measures discussed in the Ministry of Justice's draft.
For a detailed analysis of the criminal aspects, see the material on criminal liability for illegal mining, and a general overview of penalties is available in the article on administrative and criminal liability.
Mining Permission in Certain Regions
In some regions, including Ingushetia, a ban on cryptocurrency mining and pool participation has been in effect from January 1, 2025, to March 15, 2031. However, the government has permitted mining in these regions provided miners use their own electricity generation and have regulator confirmation, allowing exceptions when additional requirements are met.
Those following regional practices and legal amendments may find the article on mining legalization and new rules adopted in the previous regulatory cycle useful.
Why This Matters
The proposed amendments change the legal framework under which miners’ activities are assessed: now unregistered mining can be considered a criminal offense if significant damage or income is involved. The fines and criminal sanctions directly affect both large farm operators and smaller participants if their activity meets the criteria of "significant" or "especially significant" damage.
Even if you mine on a small number of devices, it is important to understand that legal evaluation will consider the overall circumstances: registry status, electricity sources, income volume, and impact on other individuals or organizations. For miners in regions with active bans, conditions regarding own electricity generation and regulator confirmation may be decisive.
What to Do?
If you operate from one to a thousand devices, the first step is to verify whether your activity requires registry inclusion or compliance with regional restrictions. Collect and store documents on electricity sources and contractual relationships to confirm the legality of your operation if needed.
- Clarify whether you must be registered and what infrastructure requirements apply in your region.
- If operating in a banned region, assess the possibility of using your own generation and obtaining regulator confirmation.
- If in doubt, consult a specialist and keep all accounting and technical documentation for potential inspections.
The draft is currently under public discussion and expert review, so monitor official publications and regulatory updates, as well as specialized media, to respond promptly to changes.