A Digital Currency as a Means of Money Laundering: A Criminal Law Analysis of the Issue in the Russian Federation

This article presents a criminal-legal analysis of the use of digital currency as a means of legalization (money laundering) of criminal proceeds in the Russian Federation. The concept of digital currency under Federal Law No. 259-FZ, its legal status, and qualification problems of crimes under Articles 174 and 174.1 of the Criminal Code in the absence until 2026 of direct recognition of digital currency as property in the Criminal Code are examined. The approaches of judicial practice and the clarifications of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 32 are analyzed, while attention is given to the position of the legislator as expressed in Legislative Draft No. 902782-8 on recognizing digital currency as an object of property rights for the purposes of criminal and criminal-procedural law. Based on the conducted research, conclusions and proposals are formulated aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of counteraction to the legalization of criminal proceeds using digital currencies.