UK sanctions three crypto exchanges and payment platforms tied to Russian sanctions evasion

On October 8, 2026, the UK sanctioned three cryptocurrency exchanges—Cryptomus, Heleket, and TokenSpot—and several payment platforms for facilitating Russian sanctions evasion. The measures freeze UK assets and target networks linked to the Kremlin-backed A7 financial network, which allegedly moved over $90 billion in 2025. Part of a broader 38-designation package, the action also targets Russian oil producers, shadow-fleet tankers, and military suppliers.

UK sanctions on crypto and payment platforms

• ▪The UK government sanctioned payment platforms Tsunami Payments LLC and OJSC Processing KG, alongside Processing KG's director Ulan Bukabaev
• ▪The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sanctioned three cryptocurrency exchanges—Cryptomus, Heleket, and TokenSpot—on October 8, 2026, for helping Russian entities evade financial sanctions

Relationship between Cryptomus and Heleket

• ▪TRM Labs reported that Heleket was launched in January 2025 to absorb users who left Cryptomus after Cryptomus introduced mandatory KYC checks in February 2025
• ▪A Chainalysis analysis found that Cryptomus and Heleket received funds from thousands of illicit counterparties, peaking at 900 entities in a single month in late 2025
• ▪The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office designated Cryptomus and Heleket as a single sanctioned entity to prevent the operator from moving users between the two brands

Sanctions and fines on Xeltox Enterprises

• ▪The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada fined Xeltox Enterprises Ltd CAD 177 million in October 2025 for breaching money-laundering and terrorist-financing rules
• ▪The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office designated Xeltox Enterprises Ltd as the parent company of Cryptomus, Heleket, and Certa Payments Ltd.

Financial transactions involving TokenSpot

• ▪Chainalysis determined that TokenSpot, Grinex, and Meer received over $308 million from the same HTX deposit address
• ▪Kyrgyzstan-based TokenSpot was designated by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with TRM Labs assessing it as a front company operating on wallet infrastructure shared with Grinex and Garantex
• ▪TokenSpot disbursed over $950 million across Grinex, Garantex, and the A7 network, with A7 receiving almost $679.5 million of that total, according to TRM Labs

Role and scale of the A7 network

• ▪The UK government reported that the Kremlin-backed A7 financial network claimed to have moved more than $90 billion in 2025, representing nearly half of Russia's annual military expenditure
• ▪The UK government stated that two of the sanctioned businesses, Cryptomus and Heleket, facilitated transactions involving A7, a Kremlin-backed network whose ruble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin is used to bypass financial restrictions
• ▪CertiK reported that the Russian ruble-backed A7A5 stablecoin processed $110 billion in cumulative on-chain transactions leading up to June 2026

Wider sanctions package

• ▪The UK sanctions package on October 8, 2026, included 38 designations, targeting Russian oil companies Zarubezhneft and INK-Capital, 12 shadow-fleet tankers, and 17 entities and individuals supplying military goods for Russia's missile and drone production
• ▪The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office also included Russian firm Planeta and Moscow lender Stolichny Kredit in its October 8, 2026, package of 38 designations

Debatable claims

• ▪Sanctions on specific cryptocurrency exchanges are ineffective at stopping Russian sanctions evasion
• ▪Sanctions on a parent financial company should automatically apply to all its operating brands
• ▪Mandatory identity verification on cryptocurrency exchanges is necessary to combat financial crime