The Use of Digital Game Currency as a Way to Legalize the Proceeds of Crime

Abstract

At the current level of development of the legal system of the Russian Federation, one of the most pressing problems is combating money laundering and its subsequent use for illegal purposes. Information technology creates an opportunity to improve the criminal technology of committing crimes and their concealment. One of the newest ways of money laundering is the use of digital game currency. The use of digital gambling currency is a relevant tool for money laundering, disguising cash transactions and their further sale. Such currency can be used to buy and sell virtual goods in various online communities, including social networks, online and offline games. Such currency can then be exchanged for fiat or decentralised funds, which in turn facilitates novel money laundering schemes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate in-game currency, the ways it can be used for money laundering, and to develop possible measures to counteract this unlawful act. To achieve the set goal of the study we used dialectical, comparative legal, formal-legal, system-structural and other methods; the analysis of criminal cases for the period from 2018 to 2023 was carried out, media materials were reviewed and analysed. As a result of the conducted research the use of digital game currency as a method of money laundering was considered, the main categories of in-game currencies used for laundering of proceeds of crime were identified, and a possible way to counteract the use of digital game currency for the purpose of laundering of criminal proceeds was proposed.