There has been increasing calls for imposing bitcoin ban in Russia by authorities for nearly two years now. However, following delays in introducing the bill to the parliament, recent reports suggest that Russian authorities are now seeking to abandon the idea to introduce criminal liability for the manufacture and use of money surrogates, Interfax reported.

A source familiar with this latest development told the media house that representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and government staff have agreed with this view. Interfax further stated based on this recommendation, these representatives intend to submit a report to the President of Russia in the second half of August.

The representatives also decided that it is necessary to monitor the use of virtual currencies and analysis of risks of use of money surrogates for criminal activities.

“With this in mind, it can be presented a proposal to amend the regulations if necessary”, Interfax added.

Earlier in March, the Russian Finance Ministry prepared amendments to the law "On the Central Bank", not only prohibiting the production and turnover of cryptocurrency in the country but also proposed higher fines and jail sentences up to seven years.

In June, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev stated that the ministry is still thinking over the wording of the bill on money surrogates.