Parliamentary committee in North Macedonia approves Criminal Code amendments in second reading

The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code have been approved in second reading by the Parliament’s lead committee and have now been sent to lawmakers for a vote. The new provisions include virtual assets among the property that can be confiscated under court rulings, although the industry is currently not regulated by law in the country.

Article 122, paragraph 38, of the Criminal Code states: “Property means money or other means of payment, securities, deposits, economic resources and other assets in any form, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, including virtual assets (money), in accordance with the law.”

Financial investigation and online financial crime specialists have raised questions about how people who own such assets will be identified. Based on experience in countries in the region, identification could be carried out after certain legal amendments are adopted. First, a supervisory body would need to be established; in this case, that would be the National Bank. Next, entities that exchange cryptocurrencies for cash would have to report information about people who hold crypto assets to the National Bank. The Law on Asset Declarations would also require citizens to declare these assets.

If it is discovered that assets have not been declared, the person could face criminal prosecution. The Financial Police and the Financial Intelligence Office are also expected to play an important role in this process. The Criminal Code amendments are being considered at the same time as the Ministry of Justice’s request to the European Commission to assess the draft of the new code, which the Commission had also called for in its latest progress report on North Macedonia.