Russian banks crack down on transactions involving USDT purchased overseas and cashed out domestically

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The Central Bank of Russia and commercial banks have begun intercepting transactions in which USDT is purchased through Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and other CIS countries, then exchanged for cash rubles in Russia. The arbitrage exploits the price difference between digital USDT and cash USDT, generating returns of at least 2% per transaction, but Russian monetary authorities believe it poses money-laundering risks due to unknown sources of funds. The transition period will end on July 1, 2027, after which buying Tether through CIS platforms via Russian bank accounts and cashing it out domestically will no longer be possible; P2P cryptocurrency transactions and transfers to self-custody wallets will also be prohibited.