Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan has introduced administrative and criminal penalties for illegal activities related to the use of cryptocurrencies and mining.

The President of Uzbekistan signed the law “On amendments and additions to the Criminal, Criminal Procedure Codes of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Administrative Responsibility.”

According to the law, Article 155-4 is added to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Uzbekistan (CoAO RU), establishing the following:

- Illegal acquisition, transfer or exchange of cryptocurrencies, as well as the provision of services for handling them without an appropriate license, entails administrative arrest for up to 15 days or a fine of 20 to 30 sizes of basic estimated value (BRV) for persons who cannot be arrested.

- Transactions with anonymous cryptocurrencies by service providers in this area will entail a fine of officials from 30 to 40 BRV.

New Article 155-5 of the CoAO of the Republic of Uzbekistan introduces fines for mining:

- Carrying out mining in violation of the established procedure will lead to confiscation and administrative arrest for up to 5 days or a fine of 20 to 30 BRV for persons not subject to arrest.

- Mining in violation of order on a large scale will entail administrative arrest for up to 10 days or a fine of 30 to 50 BRV.

- Mining in violation of order on an especially large scale will be punishable by arrest for up to 15 days or a fine of 50 to 100 BRV.

- Mining with anonymous cryptocurrencies will result in confiscation and a fine of up to 30 BRV.

For repeated commission of these violations after administrative punishment, criminal liability is provided.

According to Article 278-8 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan:

- Illegal acquisition, transfer or exchange of cryptocurrencies, as well as activities related to handling them without a license, will entail a fine of up to 100 BRV, correctional labor for a period of 2 to 3 years, or restriction of liberty for up to 1 year, or imprisonment for up to 1 year.

- For committing these violations on a large scale, a fine of 300 to 400 BRV, or restriction of freedom for up to 3 years, or imprisonment for up to 3 years, and in a particularly large amount - imprisonment for up to 3 years is imposed.

According to Article 278-9 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, repeated mining with anonymous cryptocurrencies after administrative punishment entails a fine of up to 100 BRV, correctional labor for a period of 2 to 3 years, or restriction of freedom for up to 1 year, or imprisonment for up to 1 year. Hidden mining is punishable by a fine of 100 to 300 BRV, or restriction of freedom for up to 2 years, or imprisonment for up to 2 years. For committing these violations on an especially large scale, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or a fine of 300 to 400 BRV, or restriction of freedom for up to 3 years is provided.