Japan to Float a Bill That Will Allow Seizure of Crypto Linked to Crime

Law enforcement in Japan is set to get revamped as authorities are looking at avenues to introduce a new amendment to a bill that will permit digital currencies involved in crimes to be confiscated. As reported by local media channels, Yomiuri Shimbun, the Justice Ministry is bound to discuss the new law with the Legislative Council before proceeding with working on the associated details.

The new law being explored will be an amendment to the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Proceeds of Crime (1999).

For the new proposal to gain grounds and be enforceable, the proponents will have to align some key details such as the modalities for getting the private keys of the wallets containing the funds, considering the criminals may not be readily forthcoming in handing them over. 

The current law only mandates authorities to seize tangible and fixed assets, all of whose categorizations do not feature cryptocurrencies in any way. The assets that can be confiscated include but are not limited to physical property, monetary claims, and movable assets such as machinery, vehicles, tools, and supplies.

As the local media outlets reported, the bill may not meet significant restrictions for it to become law as many legislators seem to be in favor. However, the details and modalities of the new bill have to be set before it is presented to the cabinet for assent and finally, ratification by the parliament.

Japan and Proactive Crypto Legislation

Japan is notably making significant moves to bring proactive legislation to the fast-growing cryptocurrency ecosystem. Earlier this month, TheCoinRise reported that the country made history as the first to pass a law on stablecoin, effectively naming the digital money.

The legislature though has been in the works since last year became very necessary at this time considering the collapse of UST, the algorithmic stablecoin of the Terra blockchain protocol. Under the provisions of the new stablecoin bill, Japan now mandates that only licensed financial institutions or trusts will be able to issue the tokens, and it must henceforth be backed by Japanese Yen or any other tangible asset.

For the current amendment, JiJi Press noted that talks with the legislative council could go on as early as next month, but the broader timeline is unknown