On June 16, the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation amended a 2002 ruling regarding judicial practices in cases of theft, robbery, and banditry. The list of items considered theft now includes digital rubles, digital rights, and cryptocurrency, according to RAPSI.
The Supreme Court also clarified when the theft of cashless funds is considered complete—the crime is deemed finished once the money is withdrawn from the victim's account.
When classifying theft from a bank account or electronic money, the court must recognize only cashless funds in accounts or electronic money as the subject of such a crime.
If the funds of one victim are stolen through multiple consecutive withdrawals, but the actions are driven by a single intent, this should be treated as one continuous crime.
The document was unanimously approved by the Plenary Session.
Each year, over 26,000 individuals are convicted in Russia for theft from bank accounts or concerning electronic money, as reported by TASS citing judicial statistics.
This is not the first ruling by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation regarding cryptocurrency. In June 2023, the court recognized the conversion of bitcoins into rubles as money laundering, and in May 2024, it mandated the verification of cryptocurrency wallet ownership in legal cases.