Estonia punishes crypto investor for donations to the Russian army: compensation to Ukrainians is 30 times higher
15 October 17:02
The Estonian State Prosecutor’s Office has introduced a new practice of punishment: people found guilty of financing the Russian army are obliged to make significant contributions to support Ukrainians.
According to "Komersant Ukrainian", this was reported by ERR.
In 2022, a crypto investor, whose name has not been disclosed, donated three times to an organization that purchases equipment for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
The crypto-investor, based in Estonia, made three payments of 0.0008 bitcoin from his account on the Binance crypto exchange, and due to exchange rate fluctuations, the amount of transfers on different dates was 23.30 euros, 15.20 euros, and 16.10 euros, respectively.
This activity attracted the attention of the Estonian Security Police, as the first transfer was made on June 7, 2022, about a month after a new article on supporting an act of aggression by a foreign state was introduced into the Estonian Criminal Code.
Assistant State Prosecutor Margaret Beres acknowledged that in this case it was possible to apply a measure that allows the criminal case to be dismissed without trial if the suspect fulfills certain conditions.
The investor agreed to donate to a Ukrainian charity organization an amount 30 times higher than his transfers to support the Russian army, i.e., €1,638.
The prosecutor’s office randomly chose the recipient of the donation, a non-profit organization called the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tallinn.
In addition, the crypto investor will have to perform 75 hours of community service within six months.
If the suspect evades these obligations, the prosecutor’s office will resume criminal proceedings.
