UK Sanctions Digital Asset Platforms Over Russian Evasion

The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office implemented a new wave of sanctions on October 8, 2026, targeting multiple digital asset exchanges and payment networks suspected of facilitating Russian sanctions evasion.

The financial platforms face asset freezes and internet services sanctions. The latter measure requires internet providers, social media platforms, and app stores to take reasonable steps to stop UK users from accessing the designated websites and applications. The FCDO stated plainly on social media: "if you help Russia fund or equip this war, you will face the consequences."

The wider 38-target package also encompasses Russian oil companies Zarubezhneft and INK Capital, 12 shadow fleet tankers, and 17 entities or individuals supplying critical goods for Russia's missile and drone production. The government noted UK sanctions now cover over 90% of Russia's oil production capacity.

Following the Onchain Funds

The digital asset entities blacklisted include Vancouver-registered Xeltox Enterprises, designated for operating Cryptomus and activities connected to Heleket and Certa Payments. Also targeted are three Kyrgyzstan-registered firms: TokenSpot, Tsunami Payments, and Processing KG. The latter operates the payment service VexPay and is a subsidiary of Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Finance; its director, Ulan Bukabaev, was sanctioned alongside it.

Two of the targeted companies facilitated transactions with the A7 network, which the UK describes as a Kremlin-backed illicit finance network. The government stated that A7 moved more than $90 billion last year, which it equates to roughly half of Russia's annual military spending.

Blockchain intelligence from an October 8 TRM Labs report revealed deep ties between the newly sanctioned services and previously blacklisted operations. TokenSpot, which shares a Bishkek office tower with Tsunami Payments, was identified as a front for the sanctioned exchange Grinex. Investigators found shared TRON blockchain addresses and a direct transfer of $146.3 million from 126 TokenSpot deposit addresses to a Grinex aggregator wallet. Further demonstrating their entanglement, both Grinex and TokenSpot informed customers of technical interruptions just 25 minutes apart on April 15.

Between December 8, 2023, and September 27, 2026, TokenSpot’s TRON addresses received $3.54 billion and sent $3.14 billion. TRM calculated the exchange transferred a combined total exceeding $950 million to A7, Grinex, and Garantex. TokenSpot alone transferred $679.5 million to A7 and sent $26.5 million directly to the A7A5 token.

Shared Operational Infrastructure

TRM Labs also highlighted coordinated operations between Cryptomus and Heleket. After Cryptomus implemented mandatory know your customer checks in February 2025, its monthly onchain volume dropped from $153 million in January to $86 million in March, while Heleket's activity simultaneously grew. Both platforms utilized a 0.4% processing fee and identical website wording.

By April 2026, Cryptomus had received $1.86 billion and sent $1.63 billion via onchain transactions. Garantex served as its largest sanctioned counterparty, accounting for more than $204 million received and $101 million sent. Heleket processed over $2.89 billion by October 2026, primarily interacting with the sanctioned exchange Rapira. Illicit activity accounted for 0.6% of Heleket’s incoming volume in 2025, a rate nearly five times the average among similar payment providers in TRM's dataset.

Prior to the UK's action, Xeltox faced a penalty of nearly CAD 177 million from Canada’s financial intelligence agency, FINTRAC, in October 2025 for alleged violations of anti-money laundering requirements. The company is appealing the penalty.