The UK has sanctioned several crypto firms and related financial companies as it tries to cut off payment routes it says are helping Russia work around restrictions.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office published the new designations on May 26 under the UK's Russia sanctions rules. The list names crypto exchanges EXMO Exchange Limited, Rapira Group LLC, Aifory LLC, Bitpapa IC FZC LLC, Huobi Global S.A. and several other entities and individuals.
The UK said the first group of designations covers entities and people involved in supporting the Russian financial sector, including Garantex co-founder Sergey Mendeleev as well as Igor Gorin and Irina Akopyan, affiliated with A7, a Kremlin-backed network used to route funds and bypass restrictions.
The UK also listed Nueva Cryptologia, a Mexican crypto company, Huobi Global S.A., a Seychelles-registered entity sharing the name of the crypto exchange brand, and Liran Cohen for allegedly helping make funds or resources available to Russia-linked financial entities.
The UK also designated Open Joint Stock Company State Brokerage Company and Open Joint Stock Company Virtual Asset Issuer, saying they are involved in business of economic significance to the Russian government.
- Blockchain forensic firm Elliptic earlier wrote in a blog post that EXMO serves users in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and had sent more than $1 million directly to Garantex. It also said Rapira was among Russia-linked platforms used for ruble-to-crypto flows.