The East is Cracking Down on E-Money, Too

Governments are finally coming to terms with the reality of e-money, and the U.S. court caseagainst an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme is only one example. Russia and Ukraine are also struggling with Internet currency controversies.

On Aug. 12, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said in astatement that it had found that Alexei Navalny, an opponent of President Vladimir Putin now running for mayor of Moscow, received foreign funding for his election campaign. "It has been established that 300 foreign persons and companies, as well as anonymous donors from 46 countries and 347 IP addresses, used the electronic payment system Yandex Money" to transfer funds for Navalny's campaign, according to the statement.