The Supreme Court explained how punishment for the theft of digital rubles will be imposed.

      The Supreme Court of Russia has made changes to the ruling on judicial practice regarding thefts, robberies, and armed assaults. As reported by "Rossiyskaya Gazeta," the amendments also affect digital rubles and other modern forms of property.

      Now, the subject of theft officially includes not only cash and non-cash money but also digital rubles, digital currency, digital rights, and also dematerialized securities. This means that such assets will be treated by the courts on par with regular monetary funds.

      The Supreme Court clarified that the theft of non-cash or digital funds is considered complete at the moment when the money is debited from the account or electronic wallet of the owner. Even if the perpetrator has not yet had the chance to use the stolen funds, the mere debit already constitutes the crime.

      Another important clarification concerns cases where money is stolen from one person not all at once, but through several transfers. If the investigation establishes that all actions were part of a single plan, it will be considered one continuing crime, rather than several separate episodes.

      It is noted that the ruling of the Supreme Court, which has been amended, has been in effect since 2002. During this time, the financial system and methods of committing crimes have changed significantly: a significant portion of thefts now occurs in the digital environment. This is why the court decided to update its approaches to handling such cases.

      According to lawyers, the new clarifications will help courts across the country to uniformly consider cases related to digital assets and eliminate discrepancies in practice.