RT, an English-language news outlet in Russia, reports that a top official with the Russian government has announced that a law will be passed banning Bitcoin’s exchange into real money by next spring because of Bitcoin’s use by criminals and terrorists.
Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev said to journalists in Moscow:
“People can play with their chips, and they can call them money, but they can’t use these surrogate currencies as tender. We will discuss this law in the current session of parliament, and possibly even pass it then, or at the very latest by spring next year. We are currently dealing with comments from the law enforcement agencies, about the specifics of legal measures, and we will take their remarks into account. But the overall concept of the law is set in stone.”
While the draft of the proposed legislation has not been published, officials state they will open criminal proceedings against people who mint digital currency as well as those who use it for transactions. Russia’s financial ministry has also asked regulators to ban access to exchanges and online shops that accept Bitcoin, reports RT.
Update (17th September 3:00 BST): A full translation of the statement from the Bangladesh Bank has been added to the piece.
The central bank of Bangladesh has issued a new statement suggesting that the use of digital currency is now illegal in the country.
The Bangladesh Bank, as originally reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), has said that the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is unlawful under existing anti-money laundering (AML) statutes.
The Bangladesh Bank noted in its advisory that harsh penalties could be imposed on those who use digital currencies, saying:
“Bitcoin is not a legal tender of any country. Any transaction through bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is a punishable offense.”
AFP also reportedly spoke to a representative from the bank, who said that the act of using a digital currency could be punishable by as much as 12 years in prison.
Bangladesh recently enacted Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, a revision of a 2009 law that aimed to bring the country’s AML policies up to global standards.
Popularity leads to announcement
Notably, the bank’s decision to outlaw digital currency transactions derived from increasing reports in the local media regarding the use of bitcoin by domestic residents.
NATO has distanced himself from the bombing of the United States and several Arab countries against terrorist militias of the “Islamic State” in Syria, reports Reuters.
“NATO is not affiliated with them,” said an official spokesman for the alliance, which was addressed by the agency on it.
In the U.S. air attack on positions of the terror group “Islamic State” (IS) in Syria on Tuesday morning several dozen IS-combatants were killed, according to Reuters, citing a monitoring group.
During the attack, the United States were supported by several Arab countries it said.Target of the attack were IS-positions in space of the city of Al-Rakka.
According to a senior spokesman for the U.S. Administration, the government troops in Syria did not interfere in the situation.
A statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry, according to the United States were informed of the planned strikes against the IS-positions in advance, reports AFP.
Amateur videos posted online on Tuesday reportedly showed the aftermath of coalition airstrikes on the village of Kfar Derian in the northern Syrian province of Idlib. The narrator in the videos is heard saying that the footage shows the destruction caused by Western allied air raids. The US has not yet confirmed it carried out airstrikes in Kfar Derian. The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to AP reports of the events.
PN 