PROCEDURAL DEPOSIT OF KEYS: BALANCING THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND THE RIGHTS OF THE OWNER

The article examines the problem of seizure of digital currency in criminal proceedings and the search for procedures that make it possible to combine the effectiveness of criminal prosecution with the protection of the property rights of the owner. It is shown that the traditional construction of seizure of property based on a prohibition of disposal and the transfer of seized property to responsible storage does not take into account the specifics of decentralized digital currencies and creates an imbalance between the public interest and the interests of the owner: preservation of the suspect’s (accused’s) access to private keys allows for the covert withdrawal of funds,  whereas direct control over the keys by investigative authorities leads to an excessive restriction of the right of ownership. The concept of a multi-level seizure of digital currency is substantiated, including an address-specific prohibition of transactions at the blockchain address, an «informational» seizure of media containing private keys and a procedural deposit of keys with an independent custodian. The legal nature of the depositary regime is disclosed; it is proposed to classify it as a special procedure for the execution of seizure of property formalized by a court and to enshrine it in law as a separate rule providing for the storage of means of access until the completion of the criminal case. Certain approaches of foreign practice to the handling of digital currencies are analyzed and compared with the proposed model. It is concluded that the procedural deposit of keys is capable of ensuring a more balanced relationship between the public interest and the rights of the owner when seizing digital currency