---
title: "Russia Complains That Assassins Are Getting Paid in Cryptocurrencies"
description: "According to Russian state-owned news, hired assassins are taking cryptocurrencies as payment for their crimes making them extremely difficult to track."
date: "2021-01-15"
modified: "2021-01-15"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-assassins-cryptocurrencies"
categories:
  - "Blockchain"
  - "Cryptocurrency"
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "cryptocurrencies"
  - "cryptocurrency"
  - "Russia"
  - "the digest"
---

# Russia Complains That Assassins Are Getting Paid in Cryptocurrencies

![According to Russian state-owned news, hired assassins are taking cryptocurrencies as payment for their crimes making them extremely difficult to track.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/russia-assassins-paid-in-cryptocurrencies.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Crypto Hitties

According to Russian state-owned news agency *TASS*, hired assassins are [taking cryptocurrencies](<https://tass.com/economy/1245125>) as payment for their crimes.

"We are investigating cases of professional perpetrators who are specialists in the IT sphere and feel confident in the cyber environment, who meticulously plan crimes and use the whole possible range of means to maintain their anonymity and be left unpunished, from VPN services to cyber securities," head of Russia's cyber and IT crimes department Konstantin Komarda told TASS.

"For instance, it was identified that a cryptocurrency was used as payment in contract killing cases," he added.

## License to Kill

There have long been rumors of hit men who take cryptocurrency as payment, but [most are scams](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/technology/can-you-hire-a-hit-man-online.html>).

The complaint is also ironic, since critics of Russian president Vladimir Putin have been known to end up [being poisoned](<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/13/alexei-navalny-to-return-to-russia-following-poisoning>) or [fall out a window](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/europe/russia-medical-workers-windows-intl/index.html>).

**READ MORE:** [Contract killers accept cryptocurrencies as payment, Russian agency says](<https://tass.com/economy/1245125>) \[*TASS*\]

**More on crypto:** *[Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Has Failed Spectacularly](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebooks-cryptocurrency-failed-spectacularly>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)