Russian Duma considers exchange ban as Beribit clients demand crypto, receive chocolate

The troubles began with reports of a raid by Russian authorities on the offices of crypto exchange Beribit at the end of March, allegely in connection to the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. Then, Beribit, which is an officially licensed exchange in Russia, announced on Telegram that during a change in leadership, discrepancies in the company’s financials were found and an audit had to be undertaken.

Now, tensions appear to have boiled over, with more than fifty Beribit clients occupying the exchange’s offices, demanding over $4 million of their funds back, according to Russian-language news site Gazeta.Ru. Videos circulating on social media show customers being given chocolate instead, alongside promises that deposits would be resolved within 1-15 days.

Beribit employees tried to flee out a back door, according to the report, before being stopped by angry customers who called the police. Beribit has since claimed that it’s processing withdrawals, with the first batch of payments already going out to clients, though another report claims that the only clients to receive funds were those who had filed police reports.

Russian Duma considers exchange ban

Meanwhile, legislators of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house, have introduced a bill that would ban cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, though crypto transactions and mining firms registered with the government would still be permitted, according to Gazeta. The bill would also ban cryptocurrency advertisements.

In response, another legislator asserted that such a ban would undermine Russia’s national security interests, as cryptocurrency is used to purchase weapons and other defense equipment from non-Western countries, evading sanctions and other restrictions, according to the report.