Struggles of Latvian NFT Artist Shifted From Saving his €8.7mn to Avoid 12 Years Imprisonment

The Ilya Borisov vs Latvian government case might set a classic example of crypto artists’ situation amidst absence of crypto regulations. 

The case of Latvian $NFT Artist named Ilya Borisov, also famous as Shvembldr within digital space, taking new turns. Earlier, Latvian government accused Borisov of refraining from paying taxes and his assets worth €8.7 million were also seized. Now if the charges on $NFT artist proven right, then he would be ended up 12 years imprisonment. 

Borisov shared his side of the story on his website Art is Crime. $NFT artist outlined that he is a generative artist who lived in the capital city of Latvia—Riga. He also mentioned that he received huge success during the peak of the crypto industry when $NFT space also experienced a massive boom, last year. 

Shvembldr further stated that in February this year, Latvian police seized all his property and holdings without any prior notice. He only got notified about the actions by May, after three months, he added. He sold about 3,557 NFTs and made about €8.7 million or over US$8.87 million during last year. 

According to Latvian $NFT artist, he had paid about €2.2 million in taxes. Since there are no clear regulations regarding the taxations on crypto assets earnings, Latvian State Revenue Service (VID) advised him to do so after registering himself as self-employed. 

After all this, Borisov ended up losing his wealth when Latvian authorities seized his property and froze his accounts accusing him of money laundering. He went on to take action against the authorities and challenge them in court. Despite the court’s judgment to unfreeze the $NFT artist’s belongings, authorities did not let him regain control over the assets. 

Borisov explained their filing of complaint in the court on 3rd July, 2022 against authority’s decision of seizing his accounts. He added that along with the complaint, the documents were also attached with the information of all his transactions as well as activities. 

Such actions of Latvian authority came as a heavy challenge to Borisov. He even ended up saying that being an artist in Latvia is a crime. Meanwhile, if the court proceedings go against Borisov, he might get 12 years of imprisonment under the charge of money laundering.