Russian Court Rules 100 BTC Theft Isn’t a Crime Since Bitcoin Isn’t Considered Property

Recent news from a case where two guys pretended to be FSB agents has taken a wild turn. On June 30, a Russian court dismissed the victims' claims, saying Bitcoin and other cryptos don’t have the same legal protections as traditional assets. This whole saga kicked off in 2018 when these two fakes and their crew kidnapped someone. They forced their victim to hand over around 5 million rubles, or roughly $90,000, plus 99.7 BTC, which was valued at about $900,000 back then. The kidnappers got prison sentences of eight to ten years. The fight wasn’t over, though. The victims wanted their money back, pushing for the scammers to return what they stole. The court did make the criminals pay back the 5 million rubles. But when it came to the crypto, they said they couldn’t process the claim since Bitcoin isn’t officially recognized under Russian law. So, it looks like this incident falls outside their legal reach. But there’s still a chance for the victims to pursue things in civil court. Either way, this ruling is really eye-opening. Basically saying that stealing Bitcoin isn’t seen as a crime.

Wow! That is all I can say about this case... So if they would have just taken the 100BTC it wouldn't have been a crime at all? Russia sure is dealing with BTC in a very different way that I havent heard of...

OP, you should put your entire post in quotes since the whole post is a quote. People get funny about that. They probably were the FSB and even if they weren't the judge probably got half the BTC for that ruling. I find this pretty weird. There are tons of things with value with no legal status other than being property and that should be enough no matter what legal system it is, not that Russia really has one any more.

Just show how Russia is really ignorant of BTC or you can't ruled out that ehem, maybe they themselves got the BTC from the ciminals themselves (just my speculation). But if you have to think about it, doesn't make sense for the judge not to rule in favor of the victims, in terms of the BTC stolen. And this is the reason why Russia really lags as far as implementing crypto regulations or they simply don't what to accept BTC.

This seems like a very dangerous message for all those who own cryptocurrencies, and practically leaves them completely unprotected if they become victims of such theft. Given the crime rate in Russia and the fact that bribery and corruption is a practical way of life there, individuals and especially legal entities should be well guarded if they have anything to do with crypto. It depends on how you steal them, because the criminals in this case are still convicted because the robbery involved a kidnapping - but if they had done it in a slightly more sophisticated way, then nothing would have happened to them. If they endure their prison days, when they get out of prison, real wealth awaits them - unless they themselves become victims of theft. I am sure that the Russian mafia will not let them just go under the radar.

Exactly, Im pretty sure the mafia knows all about this and is just waiting for them outside of prison and is ready to be paid. News like this is a gold mine for the mafia and Im pretty sure they are really interested in that amount of BTC/Cash!

Why am I not surprised that the Russian courts don't really see bitcoin as a legal property at all? I'm pretty sure that those behind bars are all set in life and are just waiting for their sentences to be done and they're back in business. With that amount, I'm pretty sure they are now  just taking their sweet time and just awaiting orders on who to hit next and will get away with it should they ever get nabbed once more. That's why you don't flaunt to everyone that you own bitcoin or any crypto for that matter. There is still that grey area wherein the legality of the cryptocurrencies are still aren't acknowledged by the governments and even the people. Once you get robbed, you can't do shit on the courts.

I see it more like a "if legally we don't know what it is and what's its value, it's not considered property (hence there's no theft)". It's obviously worrying and imho this puts Russia (way) under China in the way of dealing with Bitcoin. It looks like the criminals had a good lawyer. However, I hope that civil court will correct this.

If I have a sculpture made out of celebrity eyelashes stolen then I would expect that to be prosecuted despite it being a whole lot more obscure, completely unregulated and hard to value. There are countless places where the value can be checked and countless places where it can bought and sold. It's no more or less tangible than any other piece of electronic value like a stock or a bank account balance. I'll guess the judge was probably drunk. Or not even present.

The source seems to be a Telegram post? https://t.me/SPbGS/5607 Linked in this cointelegraph post. Seems poorly sourced anyway as no other news outlets outside of the space picked up the news from what it seems. If true however, it's surely a weird development. It's likely to have originated from a court's inability to understand the precedent they might be setting. By that logic, digital assets, services and anything digital that could be sold for value also shouldn't be considered property. How about every Russian starts stealing iTunes gift card codes or bank card numbers and then cite case law to claim that it wasn't theft? Hopefully such convictions will be overturned.

Isn't that what many do already anyway? Russia has to be one of the world capitals of online theft and general mischief. And it's not as if they would ever extradite anyone under any circumstances for anything.

Nice example! I agree. That's why I continued with "it's obviously worrying", it's an extremely unfair way to see what property means (what the Russians did there)

Indeed, I'd like to see a more reliable primary source. All the outlets are just citing the Cointelegraph article. There may be inconsistencies between the Russian Civil and Criminal codes. The Civil Code was amended late last year to define "digital rights" -- the term used to describe cryptocurrencies -- and cases where they conferred property rights or transfers. For example: Perhaps the criminal courts currently lack jurisdiction, but restitution is within the purview of the civil courts.

The source is really that post from Telegram, but it seems to be Joint Press Service of the courts of St. Petersburg (Oбъeдинённaя пpecc-cлyжбa cyдoв Caнкт-Пeтepбypгa) and it looks credible. The translation using Google looks like this : There are other sources (of course in Russian), which of course precede the verdict, and they give a slightly better picture of what actually happened. Personally, I was a little surprised that the verdict was passed in a little over 2 years, because the case happened in mid-2018. Cyber ​​robbers posing as FSB officers will be tried in St. Petersburg

Extradition? Probably not... India is a bit of the same under a similar premise. Online scams are tolerated by police because they bring in revenue to the country and employ many people. So long as they don't target locals nobody bothers. But if it's codified into law that digital goods aren't property and therefore their repossession doesn't count as theft, then your country's own citizens are to suffer as well. I doubt any country would be willing to take such risk. Unless of course Russia has an agreement with all e-criminals under the table so they're free to target foreigners but not the country's nationals. Makes you wonder about Russia.

So, does this mean that all bitcoin/crypto exchanges in Russia can now just exit scam and steal all bitcoins without having any legal ramifications?

Are there any exchanges in Russia at all? Considering the government's pathetic wavering it's not something I'd put any money in. There was of course BTC-e which did not end well. "the Russian criminal court" is a pretty weird turn of phrase. It may be a regional court and this was a one off decision. If I were the victim I'd be looking for a definitive answer from the highest court I could get heard in.

Yobit? Yeah i know... i avoid it at all costs, but surely there are even more sketchy ones in there. No wonder they aren't interested in KYC or anything like that.

I'm sure there are Russian owned and operated exchanges. If they're sensible they would not be running them in Russia. Then again this might act as a wonderful incentive to bring some 'business' home. Yobit is an eternal mystery. They've probably leased a secret Mir and hide in space.

If someone has money then it is even possible to buy justice for them. People who have no knowledge are in the place of giving justice, Is there any discussion related to this decision on media?