Russia Plans to Require Tax ID Numbers for Crypto Accounts as Anti-Money Laundering Identifier

Russia is moving to make the taxpayer identification number, or INN, a mandatory identifier for crypto customers under its anti-money laundering framework. For PSPs, custodians, and other operators handling Russian crypto flow, the practical point is simple: customer onboarding and transaction monitoring are getting a new hard data field, and the state wants it attached to crypto activity.

1. According to Gracheva, INN will become a new mandatory identifier for the anti-money laundering system. She said this is meant to improve transparency for transactions involving cryptocurrency, and noted that “previously, no one” in the financial sector had required this in the same way.
2. The INN is a 12-digit number assigned to a Russian citizen once and used across Russia without changing, even if the person changes residence, surname, or other passport data. In normal banking practice, the requirement can still be optional: the official clarified that banks may not always ask for it.
3. For now, INN is usually requested mainly for official employment and tax payment purposes. It is not required to open a bank account, a brokerage account, or to receive a loan, although the Bank of Russia is working on a mechanism to link INN to bank accounts as part of the planned “Anti-drop” platform launch in 2027.
4. Russia’s financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has been given the right to oversee all crypto transactions under a government law adopted together with the law “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights.”
5. The initiative requires Russian digital custodians and foreign financial organizations to send Rosfinmonitoring data on Russians’ crypto-asset transactions if the transaction amount exceeds 60,000 rubles. Market participants will have to transmit full details about both the payer and the recipient, from full names or company names to physical addresses.