Several crypto tutorial sites banned in Russia

Kungur City Court has effectively banned several unnamed websites that explained how to exchange fiat for crypto

The prosecutors of the Kungur City Court in the Perm region claim the tutorial featuring websites to have violated Russian legislation combating the legalisation of crime proceeds, in that crypto trading would be used to conduct illicit transactions and money laundering. An official press release read as following:

Taking into account that the legislation considers the exchange of virtual currencies as a potential involvement in dubious transactions, the prosecutor sent an administrative statement of claim to the court demanding to restrict access to this information.

In the document it was neither revealed which sites were being affected by the ruling, nor the exact number. According to Forklog, five complaints were processed since the beginning of the year, one of them being directed towards a YouTube Tutorial explaining exchange of Rubles to Bitcoin.

The decision marks a continuation of a policy that has seen previous bans in recent years. In March 2020, another five crypto sites had been taken down. Russian media watchdog Roskomnazdor has taken up action as well, removing bestchange.ru last week, as site guiding users to the best crypto exchange rates.

Several attempted bans in 2018 however, targeting in total 40 crypto-related websites, had been overturned before the Saint Petersburg City Court after operators calling out the censorship. Possibly, the new bans mark a stricter approach of Russian institutions than three years ago.