Britain imposes sanctions on trio of cryptocurrency platforms connected to Russian illegal money
Britain has imposed sanctions on digital currency platforms and payment processing services, several of which had connections to thousands of Russian organizations and the sanctioned HTX platform.
Britain's government has imposed sanctions targeting three cryptocurrency trading platforms and two payment service providers believed to be assisting Russian organizations in evading financial restrictions.
Five service providers in total were identified, with three having ties to Kyrgyzstan, and two of them enabling financial transactions through the Kremlin-supported A7 network, according to an announcement made Thursday by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
By blocking access to these platforms, the government aims to make it significantly more difficult for entities under sanctions to transfer and obtain funds, the Foreign Ministry stated, noting that the A7 financial network reportedly processed over $90 billion in transactions during the previous year, representing nearly half of Russia's yearly military spending.
According to findings from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, two of the payment processing companies facing sanctions, Cryptomus and Heleket, obtained funds from thousands of illicit business counterparties, with numbers reaching as high as 900 entities during a single month in the latter part of 2025.
Additionally, TokenSpot exchange, another sanctioned entity based in Kyrgyzstan, was found to have connections to the A7 network. Through its investigation, Chainalysis established that TokenSpot, together with Grinex and Meer, collectively received more than $308 million originating from the same HTX deposit address.
During May, British authorities added Huobi Global, which operates the crypto exchange HTX, to their sanctions list. HTX contested this action, contending that the sanctions designation is limited to Huobi Global as a distinct legal entity and maintained that its online trading platform and customer funds continue to operate normally.
Cointelegraph has reached out to TokenSpot, Cryptomus and Heleket seeking their comments regarding this matter.
In the meantime, the Russian ruble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin has processed $110 billion in total onchain transactions through June, demonstrating continued expansion in spite of Western sanctions, based on data from CertiK.