Фото: Jievani Weerasinghe / Unsplash
The United Kingdom on May 26 announced a broad package of sanctions targeting Russian cryptocurrency and financial infrastructure. The measures affect 14 companies and four individuals whom London considers involved in sanctions circumvention and support for Russia’s financial system.
According to a notice issued by the UK Foreign Office and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the new measures include asset freezes, bans on the provision of trust services, restrictions on correspondent banking relationships and sanctions targeting online services. For some platforms, this means UK providers must restrict access for users in the United Kingdom to their websites and applications.
The sanctions list includes cryptocurrency exchanges, financial services and companies registered in Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the UAE, Panama, the Marshall Islands and El Salvador. Among them are EXMO EXCHANGE LIMITED, HUOBI GLOBAL S.A. (HTX), BITPAPA IC FZC LLC, RAPIRA GROUP LLC, ARVIX LLC, AIFORY LLC and others.
British authorities allege that some of these entities are linked to the Russian A7 network and the Garantex platform, which had previously been sanctioned by Western countries. The documents state that the companies provided financial services, technologies and economic resources to organisations operating in “a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia”, primarily in financial services.
Personal sanctions were imposed on Liran Cohen, Igor Gorin, Irina Akopyan and Sergei Mendeleev. They are banned from entering the United Kingdom and their assets are subject to freezing. According to London, they held leadership positions in or were associated with companies forming part of the A7 infrastructure and the Russian financial sector.
The UK government said the sanctions are aimed at mechanisms that help Russia circumvent international restrictions and maintain financial operations under sanctions pressure. The document separately emphasises that violations of the UK sanctions regime may constitute a criminal offence.