The International online Conference "Digital financial assets. New in Russia, based on the Swiss experience. Opportunities and risks for business", held on November 25, brought together first - rate lawyers and experts of financial markets of Russia and Switzerland.
How does the implementation and use of crypto currencies occur, what are the risks and prospects for developing this stratagem in different countries, the specific experience of Switzerland - these and other issues were discussed during the event. One of the info-guidelines was a new stage of development of digital law in Russia - to wit: the entry into force from January 1, 2021, of the Federal Law № 259-FZ "On digital financial assets, digital currency and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.”
"The world is becoming more and more "digital" and so far, people's expectations range from the most negative to the most optimistic. There are a lot of ambiguities, but let's try to sort it out," Mr. Suren Vardanyan, the MCCI’s Vice-President, said in his opening speech.
Ms. Svetlana Shiryaeva, the President of the Swiss-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, drew the attention of the Conference’s participants to the Swiss principle regarding the approach to doing business: "Market freedom, as much as possible and government regulation, as much as necessary". By the same principle, Switzerland promotes its innovative concepts, - said Ms. Shiryaeva.
Mr. Artyom Genkin, the Doctor of Economic Sciences and President of the Center for the Protection of Investments and Investors, described the change in attitude to the regulation of digital assets in Russia - from the total ban to a healthy pragmatism. He reminded that in a very short period of time, the Russian Federation has made a leap from the total ban to the consideration of the possibility of regulation and practical permission for the use crypto currencies. Back in March 2016, a bill appeared, which provided for up to four years in prison for operations with cryptographic algorithms. But then, the situation began to improve little by little.
"I continue to consider the attention of the State Duma to this issue as the main turning point - a large working group was established to assess the risks of the crypto currency trading. The State Duma took part in the work of this group. What was promising is that many stakeholders were included there, with representatives of several law enforcement agencies," - said Mr. Genkin.
And already in 2017, Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, issued instructions to study the possibility of using a blockchain in public administration.
Mr. Dmitry Kirillov, the attorney and senior lawyer of the tax practice of the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, explained what specifically a business should consider after 2021’s adoption of the law on Digital Financial Assets in Russia. "We are at the beginning of our journey, but the bases are set up. It is necessary to take into account the relationship between the two laws "On CFA" and "On crowdfunding", because they each regulate the same subject.
If we go into business, it is imperative to be prepared and to consider all the stringent requirements regulated by the Central Bank. Accordingly, if we are going to use crypto currency, we must take into account the restrictions imposed on us by the law, especially in terms of crypto currency," emphatically stated Mr. Kirillov.
The attorney of Neupert Vuille Partners, Dr. Andre Terlinden, explained in detail how to conduct business in Switzerland, using crypto currency and other digital assets. He also introduced the legislative regulation of the Swiss financial market.
Mr. Lars Hodel, the Head of the legal and compliance department at Bitcoin Swiss AG, provided several Bitcoin insights. The theme of his speech was "Advanced Crypto Financial Services: A Guide to the Regulatory Jungle.”
The Sygnum Bank's regulatory and information and communications’ technology lawyer, Mr. Gino Wirtenson, presented digital financial assets as an investment opportunity in the future.
And the forensic expert, Ms. Natalia Manuylova, reminded attendees that compliance is aimed at minimizing risks for her company and its clients. She highlighted three main risk groups - operational, legal and reputational - and recalled that the new digital reality dictates the need for each of these groups to verify counter-parties, customers and information in order to minimize the risks.