Media & Resources
The penalty for illegal currency transactions is reduced from 75%-100% to 20%-40%
DATE: July 15, 2022 | AUTHOR: AT
On 13 July 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Federal Law “On Amendments to Article 15.25 of the RF Administrative Offences Code” (hereinafter – “FL”), which provides for reduction of administrative fines for illegal currency transactions. The Law will come into force 10 days after its publication, i.e. from 23.07.2022.
With adoption of this law the administrative fine for currency transactions not in compliance with Russian legislation will be decreased down to 20%-40% of the amount of the illegal currency transaction (previously – 75%-100%).
The only exception is for company officers who will be liable for offences committed by the companies, provided the fine amount cannot exceed 30,000 rubles.
Also, according to the FL, administrative liability does not arise if a violation of currency law is caused by the application of restrictive measures by so called ’unfriendly states’, a term referring to jurisdictions which imposed sanctions and restrictions on Russia.
Such changes may indicate the intention of the tax authorities to strictly monitor and enforce compliance with the currency control legislation, including restrictions imposed by President’s Decrees after 28 February 2022 and in case of detection of illegal currency transactions, to impose administrative sanctions based on information obtained through the automatic exchange of financial information.
We also draw your attention to the beginning of the fourth stage of the “capital amnesty”. If a special declaration in respect of foreign accounts is submitted and additional requirements are met, currency transactions are recognised as having been carried out without violating the Federal Law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control”.