Britain announced 38 new sanctions designations on Thursday, including three cryptocurrency exchanges and several payment platforms that it suspects helped Russia evade financial restrictions.
The Foreign Office named Xeltox Enterprises, the Canadian-registered company behind Cryptomus, Heleket and Certa Payments, along with Kyrgyzstan-based TokenSpot. The measures also cover Processing KG, which operates VexPay, Tsunami Payments and Ulan Bukabaev, a director of Processing KG. Designated entities’ assets in the United Kingdom are frozen.
The government said two targeted businesses processed or facilitated transactions involving A7, a Kremlin-backed network whose ruble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin is allegedly used to bypass sanctions. The package also targets Russian oil producers, shadow-fleet tankers and suppliers linked to missile and drone production. In July, the European Union’s 21st sanctions package targeted 14 cryptocurrency companies and four designations connected to A7.