A Russian citizen from Yakutia has been sentenced to seven years of prison for funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces by sending cryptocurrencies to their account.
According to Russian media outlet Izvestia, the man is currently being held in a high-security holding facility for providing financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine or AFU. This marks the first public verdict in Russian court which involves the use of cryptocurrency to finance an opposing military organization.
“A criminal case under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has been opened and investigated against a resident born in 1988,” the FSB Directorate for the Republic of Sakha said in a press statement.
The man is charged with “high treason in the form of providing financial assistance to a foreign state, international or foreign organization” which is deemed as going against the security of the Russian government.
The Russian man’s identity remains unknown, but he is said to be a resident from the Sakha Republic —also known as Yakutia— who works at a diamond mining company. According to information from the press conference conducted by the FSB Directorate, the man joined a group on social media which connected him to members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Through the group, he received instructions on how to transfer funds through a crypto wallet to help fund the AFU which the Russian federation considers a “terrorist organization.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine has continued to receive millions of donations in the form of cryptocurrency. Throughout 2024, Ukraine recorded an increase of more than 362% in decentralized finance transactions exceeding $10 million by October.
In fact, last December, Ukraine announced plans to legalize crypto in early 2025. However, the proposed law is said to treat cryptocurrencies like securities, meaning it will still be taxed once converted into traditional currency. The government claimed it will not employ tax exemptions to prevent misuse as it continues to consult with experts and the IMF on the matter.
Additionally, the Ukraine government also wants to sanction Russia’s use of Bitcoin (BTC) to conduct international payments after Russia’s finance minister declared the nation has been using crypto to get around Western sanctions.
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