Britain has imposed sanctions on Kyrgyzstan’s financial sector and several crypto platforms accused of helping Russia sidestep Western restrictions, including a ruble-linked stablecoin network that allegedly processed $9.3 billion in transactions in four months.
The measures, announced Wednesday, extend the UK’s more than 2,700 sanctions against Russia and mirror steps taken by the United States last week.
Among those blacklisted were Capital Bank of Central Asia and its director Kantemir Chalbayev, which London said had been used by Moscow to finance military goods. Two Kyrgyz-based crypto exchanges, Grinex and Meer, were also sanctioned, alongside companies tied to the operation of the A7A5 stablecoin.
The UK described A7A5 as an attempt to replicate the ruble on blockchain rails to undermine sanctions. It said the network had moved billions since its launch.
Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty said: “If the Kremlin thinks they can hide their desperate attempts to soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks — they are sorely mistaken.”
The UK also targeted Luxembourg-based Altair Holding, CJSC Tengricoin, Old Vector, A7A5 director Leonid Shumakov, and several individuals linked to the network.
Grinex, one of the sanctioned exchanges, had been viewed as a successor to Garantex, a Russian-linked platform hit with U.S. sanctions and a $27 million USDT freeze by Tether earlier this year. Last week, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) redesignated Garantex and sanctioned Grinex and its executives.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Thursday rejected London’s allegations, warning against “politicising the economy.” He denied that the country’s 21 banks were helping Russia skirt restrictions.
“To prevent any of them from falling under sanctions, we have decided that only the state-owned Keremet Bank will work with the Russian ruble,” Japarov said, according to a Reuters report. Keremet was sanctioned by Washington earlier this year for serving as a hub for Russian trade settlements.
Japarov said Kyrgyzstan was ready to respect international obligations but would not allow the country’s economic development to be “reduced to nothing.”
The UK’s action comes amid tighter scrutiny of crypto networks used for sanctions evasion. Both Washington and Brussels have stepped up enforcement, warning that stablecoins and blockchain rails are increasingly being exploited by Moscow to access financing and trade channels.
By Finance Feeds
about 2 hours ago
