The UK has imposed sanctions on three crypto exchanges, two payment platforms and one individual it suspects of helping Russia circumvent financial restrictions. The measures were announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on Thursday, October 8, 2026, as part of a 38-designation package targeting networks supporting Russia’s war effort.

The targets include Vancouver-registered Xeltox Enterprises, which the UK says owns crypto exchange Cryptomus. The company was designated through its ownership of Cryptomus and activities “linked to and continued via” Heleket, according to the UK sanctions notice.

Kyrgyz firms TokenSpot and Tsunami Payments were also sanctioned. The companies share an office tower in Bishkek. Processing KG, the operator of payment service VexPay, was designated as well. According to the notice, Processing KG’s parent company is Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Finance. Its director, Ulan Bukabaev, was sanctioned alongside the company.

The FCDO said two of the targets had processed and facilitated transactions with the A7 network, but did not specify which entities were involved.

“Putin's war depends on money, oil revenues and the networks that help sustain them. Today, the UK is imposing 38 new sanctions to disrupt those networks. The message is simple: if you help Russia fund or equip this war, you will face the consequences. pic.twitter.com/bCMq37dKPa — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) October 8, 2026”

The post is available from the FCDO at https://x.com/FCDOGovUK/status/2108210117271491002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw.

In addition to asset freezes — measures that bar UK persons from dealing with a designated party’s funds or making funds available to them — the four companies face internet services sanctions. These require social media platforms, internet providers and app stores to take reasonable steps to prevent users in the UK from accessing the companies’ websites and applications.

The UK describes A7 as a Kremlin-backed “illicit finance network” used to circumvent sanctions on Russia’s financial sector. According to the government, the network claimed to have moved more than $90 billion last year, an amount roughly equal to half of Russia’s annual military spending.

The package also sanctioned Russian oil producers Zarubezhneft and INK Capital. The UK government said its sanctions now cover more than 90% of Russia’s oil production capacity. Twelve additional shadow fleet tankers were added to the sanctions list, bringing the total number of sanctioned vessels to more than 600. The measures also target 17 entities and individuals involved in supplying goods considered critical to Russia’s missile and drone production.

Crypto and Russia sanctions

Thursday’s designations continue a pattern: the UK, the U.S. and the EU have sanctioned a series of crypto businesses in recent Russia-related sanctions packages. In May, the UK sanctioned Justin Sun’s HTX and other crypto firms, accusing HTX of providing financial services to A7. The EU named HTX in its own Russia sanctions two months later.

The U.S. has since designated A7 as a transnational criminal organization, while the EU has moved toward banning all crypto transactions with Russian entities.

A UK operation focused on Russian sanctions evasion has also resulted in 128 arrests and the seizure of crypto and cash. In May, Kyrgyzstan ordered 50 companies to cease activity after state agencies identified sanctions-related risks.

The FCDO’s announcement is available at Decrypt’s source article is available at https://decrypt.co/380568/uk-targets-cryptomus-and-tokenspot-in-new-russia-sanctions-package.