UK Sanctions Three Crypto Exchanges and Two Payment Platforms Over Russian Illicit Funds
Key Takeaways
- •The newly designated crypto exchanges and payment platforms face asset freezes within UK jurisdiction and a general prohibition on UK persons and businesses dealing with them.
- •Chainalysis research found that sanctioned payment processors Cryptomus and Heleket received funds from thousands of illicit counterparties, peaking at 900 entities in a single month in late 2025.
- •Kyrgyzstani exchange TokenSpot, which was also tied to the A7 network, received more than $308 million from the same HTX deposit address alongside exchanges Grinex and Meer, according to Chainalysis.
- •The Kremlin-backed A7 financial network claimed to have moved over $90 billion last year, an amount close to half of Russia's annual military expenditure.
- •The Russian ruble-backed A7A5 stablecoin processed $110 billion in cumulative on-chain transactions leading up to June, continuing to expand despite Western sanctions, according to CertiK.
The United Kingdom has sanctioned three cryptocurrency exchanges and two payment platforms suspected of helping Russian entities circumvent financial restrictions, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) announced on Thursday. Three of the designated service providers are linked to Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian republic and member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, while two are said to have facilitated transactions with the Kremlin-backed A7 network, according to an official government announcement.
Under the UK's sanctions framework, designations freeze any assets the named entities hold within UK jurisdiction and generally prohibit UK persons and businesses from dealing with them. British officials said cutting off the platforms makes it harder for sanctioned entities to move and access funds, noting that the A7 financial network claimed to have moved more than $90 billion last year — nearly half of Russia's annual military expenditure. The measures add to the sanctions regime the UK has imposed on Russian financial channels since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis found that the two sanctioned payment processors, Cryptomus and Heleket, received funds from thousands of illicit counterparties, peaking at 900 entities within a single month in late 2025, according to the firm's research.
Another sanctioned platform, the Kyrgyzstani TokenSpot exchange, was also tied to the A7 network. Chainalysis determined that TokenSpot, along with exchanges Grinex and Meer, received over $308 million from the same HTX deposit address.
In May, UK authorities included Huobi Global, the operator of crypto exchange HTX, in their sanctions package targeting backdoor sanctions evasion. HTX pushed back against the decision, arguing that the designation applies only to Huobi Global as a separate legal entity, and said its online exchange and user funds remain unaffected. The episode illustrates how designated entities can publicly contest their inclusion on UK sanctions lists.
Cointelegraph has approached TokenSpot, Cryptomus and Heleket for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Russian ruble-backed A7A5 stablecoin processed $110 billion in cumulative on-chain transactions leading up to June, continuing to grow despite Western sanctions, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.
