The UK government has imposed new sanctions on entities tied to Russia’s use of cryptocurrencies to bypass Western restrictions.
In an Aug. 20 statement, UK authorities said Russia has turned to Kyrgyz financial institutions and opaque crypto channels to move funds through offshore networks.
The UK named Kyrgyzstan’s Capital Bank and its director, Kantemir Chalbayev, as key players in the scheme used to purchase military goods on Moscow’s behalf.
Meanwhile, these sanctions also covered Grinex, a Russian-founded crypto exchange viewed as the successor to the blacklisted platform Garantex.
The authorities noted that Grinex had been openly marketed as a replacement for Garantex after US and EU regulators sanctioned the original exchange for ignoring anti–money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules.
Alongside Grinex, the UK targeted Meer Exchange and several firms tied to the ruble-backed token A7A5, which has quickly become central to Moscow’s attempts to sidestep restrictions.
The UK government described the latest measures as part of a broader campaign to limit Russia’s financial options since the start of its invasion of Ukraine.
UK Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty said:
“If the Kremlin thinks they can hide their desperate attempts to soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks – they are sorely mistaken. These sanctions keep up the pressure on Putin at a critical time and crack down on the illicit networks being used to funnel money into his war chest.”
Meanwhile, the move follows similar recent actions by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on the Russian entities.
A7A5 stablecoin token
The A7A5 token, issued by the Kyrgyz company Old Vector and backed by deposits at sanctioned Russian lender Promsvyazbank, has processed more than $9.3 billion in transactions within four months.
A recent Chainalysis report revealed that the token circulates within a narrow ecosystem of Russia-linked financial services, and most trades occur on weekdays.
According to the firm, Grinex has been the asset’s primary trading venue and is mainly used by businesses as an internal medium of exchange.
Meanwhile, the token’s early liquidity can be traced directly back to Garantex, creating a clear on-chain connection between the two exchanges.
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