A Chinese lawmaker has proposed amending Article 144 of the country's Code of Criminal Procedure to make it easier to interrogate and freeze suspects' virtual currency and other assets.
The MP stated that the current system has difficulties in capturing, storing and evaluating virtual currencies.
Jiang Fan, a deputy of the National People's Congress and chairman of the board of Hunan Renren Law Firm, suggested in an interview with “Rule of Law Daily” that the virtual currency destruction system involved in the case needs to be urgently improved.
“The disposal of virtual currencies has become a key and difficult issue in judicial practice,” Jiang said. He noted that due to the unique characteristics of virtual currency, which differ from traditional properties, existing institutional arrangements, investigative measures and property destruction methods cannot meet the actual needs of virtual currency seizure, storage, realization and other activities involved in the case.
Jiang noted that there are no unified institutional regulations in the country on how to take mandatory measures such as seizing and freezing the virtual currencies involved in the case. He pointed out that the anonymity and decentralization of virtual currencies make it difficult to monitor and audit transactions and make it more difficult to investigate and collect evidence.
“The contradiction between banning the circulation of virtual currencies in the country and the practical need to dispose and realize the virtual currencies involved in the case is incompatible,” Jiang said.
He pointed out that the evaluation of virtual currencies seized in criminal cases can actually meet the interests of more than one organization and that there are hidden economic values behind this. According to Jiang, this great economic value can compensate victims of criminal cases for property losses, prevent the violation of victims' legitimate rights and interests, and give crime suspects the opportunity to return stolen goods and pay compensation, thus achieving leniency in punishment.
*This is not investment advice.