Ukraine sanctions 60 Russian crypto firms for helping evade restrictions

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree introducing sanctions against individuals and legal entities that have helped Russia withdraw assets through cryptocurrency.

Source: decree published on the website of the Office of the President

Details: Sanctions were introduced against 60 companies, 55 of which are residents of the Russian Federation.

According to Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Zelenskyy’s Commissioner for Sanctions Policy:

• 19 of the sanctioned entities are major cryptocurrency miners involved in schemes to bypass sanctions;
• 17 are operators of information systems for issuing digital financial assets, some of which are already under US sanctions;
• 19 are part of Russia's financial infrastructure: manufacturers of payment equipment, organisers of blocked asset exchanges and intermediaries for international payments under sanctions;
• 5 are crypto exchange operators involved in sanctions evasion.

The list also includes five companies that are not residents of the Russian Federation but are involved in helping it evade restrictions, some of which are already subject to US sanctions.

• TOKENTRUST HOLDINGS LIMITED (Cyprus) – under US sanctions since 25 March 2024;
• EXMO RBC LTD (Kazakhstan) – operator of the EXMO.me crypto exchange, active in the markets of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and involved in sanctions circumvention;
• AWX Solutions FZ-LLC (UAE) – operates the crypto exchange AWX.pro (formerly AWEX), under US sanctions;
• Crypto Explorer DMCC (UAE) – under US sanctions, operates the AWEX exchange and facilitates the conversion of cryptocurrencies, roubles and dirhams in the UAE;
• Bitpapa IC FZC LLC (UAE) – a peer-to-peer crypto exchange aimed at Russian users, under US sanctions.

Sanctions were also introduced against 73 individuals who are managers and owners of sanctioned companies and officials of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

A full list is available in the sanctions register of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council. The restrictions provide for asset freezes and a ban on economic activity in Ukraine.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "This is both a synchronisation with our partners and our own initiative. Just through one single company [LLC A7 – ed.], now included in the sanctions list, and only since the beginning of this year, that is, prior to the sanctions being imposed, the Russians funnelled several billion dollars, primarily for the needs of their military-industrial complex. 

Of course, we will shut down all such schemes. Right now, with many of Russia’s traditional financial channels blocked, they are increasingly shifting to cryptocurrency transactions."

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