Belarus Looks to Ban Peer-to-Peer Crypto Transactions to Reduce Fraud
The east European country is working on legislation to make it harder for fraudsters to get their hands on the proceeds of crime.
Jul 3, 2023 at 3:14 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/BCVNV2LDZZCURHSKPFIWTRNY6E.jpg)
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Belarus plans to issue legislation banning peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto transactions to reduce fraud, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a Sunday Telegram post.
Citizens of the east European country will be allowed to conduct crypto transactions only through exchanges based in the Belarus Hi-Tech Park (HTP) "for the sake of transparency and control."
The ministry said it had identified 27 people who provide illegal crypto exchange services, which are used by fraudsters to get their hands on the proceeds of their activities.
"The introduction of a practice similar to the procedure for exchanging foreign currencies will make it impossible to withdraw money obtained through criminal means. In such conditions, it will simply be unprofitable for IT fraudsters to operate in Belarus," the statement read.
CoinDesk called the Belarus Ministry of Internal Affairs but did not get a response.
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Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. She previously worked as an intern for Business Insider and Bloomberg News. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.