Does the existing regulation of virtual currencies ensure proper prevention of virtual currency crimes?

„Virtuali valiuta - tai skaitmeninė valiuta leidžianti anonimiškai atlikti internetinius mokėjimus tiesiogiai tarp vartotojų, nesinaudojant bankais ar kitais tarpininkais.“ Kalbant apie virtualias valiutas dažnai kyla klausymas ar jos patikimos, kadangi vis dar daugelis šalių neprisiima atsakomybes reglamentuoti jų veiklą. Dėl to kyla klausymas ar šalys užtikrina tinkamą nusikaltimų, susijusių su virtualiomis valiutomis, prevenciją. Manytina, kad išanalizavus moksliniame kontekste esamą šalių prevenciją prieš šiuos nusikaltimus, tai pridėtų indėlį tolimesnei mokslo plėtotei bei stipriai prisidėtų prie praktinio prevencinių priemonių panaudojimo siekiant užkardyti nusikaltimus naudojant virtualias valiutas. Lietuvoje nėra išsamių mokslinių tyrimų, taip pat ir Lietuvos teismų praktikos šiuo klausimu vis dar nėra daug. Nors atrodo, kad dauguma šalių laukia kol bus parodytas tinkamas pavyzdys, kaip šią problemą spręsti, tačiau yra tokių valstybių, kurios jau pradėjo leisti naujus įstatymus siekiančius užtikrinti šių nusikaltimų prevenciją. Taip pat virtualių valiutų reglamentavimo klausimais yra daug diskutuota tarp pasaulio teisininkų bendruomenės. Todėl šiame darbe siekiama išanalizuoti ar esamas virtualių valiutų reglamentavimas užtikrina tinkamą nusikaltimų, susijusių su virtualiomis valiutomis, prevenciją. Magistro baigiamąjį darbą sudaro trys dalys. Pirmoje dalyje, pirmiausiai, yra aptariama virtualių valiutų samprata bei Europos Sąjungos, Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų bei Rusijos esamas reglamentavimas bei požiūris į jas. Šis skyrius leidžia lengviau susidaryti nuomonę, kas yra virtuali valiuta ir kokį teisinį požiūrį turi į ją minėtos valstybės. Antrajame darbo skyriuje yra paaiškinami nusikaltimai naudojant virtualias valiutas finansų sistemai, elektroninių duomenų ir informacinių sistemų saugumui, ekonomikai ir verslo tvarkai, nuosavybei, turtinėms teisėms ir turtiniams interesams. Šiame skyriuje yra pateikti šių nusikaltimų pavyzdžiai bei aptarta, kaip jie yra atliekami. Trečiajame darbo skyriuje yra aptariama, kaip šalys tiria minėtus nusikaltimus bei kokią prevenciją atlieka ir pateikti apibendrinimai. Atlikus literatūros šaltinių analizę, suformuota hipotezė nepasitvirtino, kadangi pakankamai neseniai valstybės pradėjo kurti naujus įstatymus ir teisės aktus ar pritaikyti esamus.It is hard to imagine what virtual currency is because unlike traditional money it does not have a physical form. This means that virtual currencies are not physically palpable "coins" but rather a unique digital code or strings of numbers that make up currency units. If you have one of those separate number strings that means you have virtual currency. Virtual currency allows online payments to be made anonymously and directly between users without the need for banks or other intermediaries. When it comes to virtual currencies, one often wonders if they are reliable since many countries still do not take responsibility for regulating activities of digital currency. For almost a decade, EU regulators have taken a conservative cautionary stance on EU cryptocurrencies and have not regulated these market players, leaving all risks to consumers and investors, and have led to a high level of criminal activity. However, in recent years, regulation around the world is beginning to take many forms and attempts are being made to prevent crime. This results in hearings or countries ensuring proper prevention of virtual currency offenses. Analyzing the existing prevention of countries against these crimes in the scientific context would add to the further development of science. It would also contribute significantly to the practical use of specific measures to prevent crimes using virtual currencies. There is no comprehensive research in Lithuania and not much law practice related to this issue. While most countries seem to be waiting for a good example of how to deal with this problem, there are countries that have begun enacting new laws to prevent these crimes. There is also much debate among the global legal community regarding the regulation of virtual currencies. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to analyze whether the existing regulation of virtual currencies ensures proper prevention of crimes related to virtual currencies. The master's thesis consists of three parts. The first part deals primarily with the concept of virtual currencies and the existing regulations and approaches in the European Union, the United States and Russia. This section makes it easier to get an idea of what virtual currency is and what legal attitude the mentioned countries possess. The second part of this thesis explains the different types of crimes using virtual currencies. Sub-sections of this chapter will cover topics like money laundering, hacking into personal computers for virtual currency mining crimes committed in the darknet and cyber scams. This section provides examples of each of the crimes and discusses how such crimes are committed. Section is divided into four sub-sections: (1) Crimes and misdemeanors for the financial system, (2) Crimes against the security of electronic data and information systems, (3) Crimes and misdemeanors for the economy and business order and (4) Crimes and misdemeanors against property, rights and interests. The third part of the thesis discusses the process of cybercrime investigation and various prevention strategies used in different countries. This section provides examples of countries attempts in trying to prevent crime against the financial system, property, property rights and property interests. There is also a brief discussion of the most successful protective measures against virtual currency crimes utilized in several countries as well as a discussion of what still needs to be improved. This section consists of two sub-sections: (1) Prevention of crime and misdemeanors against property, rights and interests, and (2) Prevention of crime and misdemeanors against the financial system. In order to achieve the goals of this master’s thesis it was divided into three different objectives, as follows: 1. The first objective focuses on examining the different positions that countries have taken on the regulation of virtual currencies and how that came to legal regime of different jurisdictions. 2. The second objective aims to uncover numerous ways and means of committing crimes using virtual currency 3. The third objective identifies countries preventions of crimes that involve using virtual currencies and assess problems that need to be fixed in order to prevent future cyber currency crimes. The analysis of the literature did not support the hypothesis that current regulations ensures prevention of crypto currency crimes, as recently countries began to prepare for new laws or adapt existing ones. There is still a long way to go for countries and their law enforcement agencies to properly enforce the law against criminal and illegal use of virtual currencies.Teisės fakulteta