Azerbaijan court confiscates cryptocurrency in favor of state for first time

The trial of B.G.R. and I.R.F., who were arrested by the State Security Service (SSS), has concluded, Olaylar informs.

The case was notable because cryptocurrency was confiscated in favor of the Azerbaijani state for the first time in practice during the proceedings.

By a ruling of the Yasamal District Court, the defendants were found guilty under Article 206-1.3 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan for organizing the illegal transfer of large amounts of money from Azerbaijan abroad or from abroad to Azerbaijan through exchanges and other settlement methods.

B.G.R. was sentenced to two years and five months of restriction of freedom and fined 3,623,568 manats ($2,131,510).

I.R.F. was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 31,399,709 manats ($18,470,417).

The court also ordered the confiscation in favor of the state of 830 units of cryptocurrency held in an account with the international virtual asset service Binance. The account had been frozen by a court decision during the preliminary investigation.