Top law enforcement agencies along with the judicial authorities in Turkey and Russia have agreed to the need for Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) agreement for preventing cybercrimes in the digital industry.

Further collaboration will be made between the two countries for stopping the illegal use and abuse of digital currencies.

Turkey and Russia Agree on MLA

A Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) has been signed between Turkey and Russia which will initiate a 2-year mutual cooperation program.

As per the program, top watchdogs and judicial authorities of the two countries will cooperate together.

The agreement was signed in Istanbul, Turkey in which Igor Krasnov, Prosecutor General represented Russia while Bekir Bozdag, Minister of Justice represented Turkey.

Focus Would Be Countering and Preventing Cybercrimes

The mutual cooperation between Russia and Turkey will focus on combating and preventing crimes committed by cybercriminals in the digital asset industry.

Furthermore, it has been agreed that misuse of digital currencies must be curtailed by all means necessary.

After executing the mutual cooperation agreement, the Russian representative pointed out that Russia has vast experience in the relevant field.

Russian Rep Comments

Krasnov suggested that Russia has laid down the infrastructure for conducting investigations and trying disputes pertaining to digital assets. He also said that the law on the subject in Russia has been further updated.

On the other hand, the Russian central bank is in the process of conducting pilot testing of Russian CBDC, told Krasnov.

He also made mention of the draft proposal which is under consideration by the United Nations and deals with the misuse of technology for cybercrimes.

Criminalization Required

He pointed out that Russia believes that there are various acts in the technology sector that need to be criminalized.

According to him, non-criminalization of such acts are encouraging extremism, brainwashing common people, and causing harm to the national security of political regimes.

European Sanctions

As regards the European initiative of dealing with cybercrimes, he commented that Europe’s approach is limited. He said that the approach does not deal with the core problem.

Currently, the European region has imposed one after the other sanctions on Russia particularly because Russia waging war on Ukraine.

Europe also took notice of the matter that Russia was utilizing digital currencies and assets for bypassing the restrictions imposed through sanctions.

Russia’s Plan for Digital Assets

Resultantly, Russia’s access to the global markets to has been severely curtailed. To counter these sanctions, Russia has come up with a proposal that it should need to utilize digital assets for settling international payments.

Particularly state matters involving imports have been proposed to be settled through digital currencies. However, the initiative has not been taken yet because Russia is still considering the matter.

In the meantime, Russia has approved a draft proposal relating to the mining of digital currencies in the country.