UK Targets Russian Crypto Sanctions Evasion Network

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Britain sanctioned 18 people and companies accused of using the Kremlin-backed A7 network and shadow financial infrastructure used to fund Moscow’s war economy.

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Alesia Kozik/Pexels

Reported by

Alena Koroleva

OCCRP

May 27, 2026

Britain imposed a new package of sanctions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, financial companies, and individuals accused of helping Russia evade Western restrictions and move money for its war economy.

The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said the 18 designations target infrastructure used to transfer funds, procure goods, and support Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measures took effect immediately and include companies and individuals linked to Russia’s financial sector, as well as entities accused of making funds, goods or technology available to sanctioned Russian actors.

The sanctions focus partly on the A7 network, which the U.K. described as a Kremlin-backed system designed to bypass Western sanctions, finance military procurement, and process proceeds from Russian oil sales. According to the British government, the network claimed to have moved more than $90 billion last year, an amount it said was roughly equal to half of Russia’s annual military spending.

The designation list names several companies described as supporting the Russian financial sector, including EXMO Exchange Limited, Rapira Group LLC, Aifory LLC, Bitpapa IC FZC LLC, Open Joint Stock Company “Eurasian Savings Bank,” and Huobi Global S.A. It also names individuals including Igor Gorin, Irina Akopyan, Sergey Mendeleev, and Liran Cohen.

British officials said the measures also target A7-linked individuals and a Kyrgyz bank suspected of facilitating payments for the network, as well as three Georgian companies operating Russia-focused exchanges. The government said one major global cryptocurrency exchange was suspected of channeling more than $1.5 billion back into Kremlin-linked hands.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the U.K. was trying to close the financial routes Russia uses to avoid sanctions, saying there would be “no safe havens” for those enabling Moscow’s aggression.

The move follows mounting scrutiny of Kyrgyzstan’s role in Russia-related sanctions evasion. OCCRP previously reported that British lawmakers had urged sanctions on Kyrgyz officials accused of enabling Russian crypto-based evasion, including through financial infrastructure linked to the A7A5 stablecoin and the broader A7 network. The lawmakers argued that cryptocurrency had become one of the routes allowing Russia to keep funding its war despite Western restrictions.

The British government said Russia has increasingly turned to “dark networks and shadow financial systems” as sanctions pressure its economy. It said Moscow cut its 2026 growth forecast from 1.3 percent to 0.4 percent and halved its projection for 2027.

May 27, 2026

May 27, 2026