The UK has sanctioned three crypto exchanges and two payment platforms that it suspects Russia is using to get around financial sanctions, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said on Thursday.
The newly designated targets include Xeltox Enterprises, a Vancouver-registered company that the UK said was designated through its ownership of Cryptomus and activities 「linked to and continued via」 Heleket. Kyrgyz firms TokenSpot and Tsunami Payments were also sanctioned. The UK notice said the two companies share an office tower in Bishkek.
Processing KG, the operator of payment service VexPay, was also named in the notice. According to the UK, its parent company is Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Finance. Its director, Ulan Bukabaev, was sanctioned alongside the company.
The government said two of the targets processed and facilitated transactions with the A7 network, though it did not specify which ones.
Beyond asset freezes, four of the companies were also hit with internet services sanctions. Those measures require social media platforms, internet providers and app stores to take reasonable steps to stop UK users from accessing their websites and apps.
The UK described A7 as a Kremlin-backed 「illicit finance network」 used to circumvent sanctions on Russia’s financial sector. The government said the network claimed to have moved more than $90 billion last year, roughly half of Russia’s annual military spending.
The crypto designations are part of a wider 38-target package that also includes Russian oil companies Zarubezhneft and INK Capital. The UK said its sanctions now cover more than 90% of Russia’s oil production capacity.
The package also adds 12 shadow fleet tankers, taking the total number of sanctioned tankers to more than 600, along with 17 entities and individuals involved in supplying goods critical to Russia’s missile and drone production.
Crypto firms in Russia sanctions efforts
The UK, the U.S. and the EU have added a series of crypto businesses to their Russia sanctions packages over the past few years.
In May, the UK sanctioned Justin Sun’s HTX and other crypto firms, accusing HTX of providing financial services to A7. Two months later, the EU also named HTX in its own Russia sanctions package.
Since then, the U.S. has designated the A7 network as a transnational criminal organization. The EU has also moved toward a ban on all crypto transactions with Russian entities.
A UK operation targeting Russian sanctions evasion has also led to 128 arrests and seizures of crypto and cash.
In May, Kyrgyzstan ordered 50 companies to cease activity after state agencies flagged them for sanctions risks.