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

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The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the A7 Network on October 1, 2026, alleging its payment infrastructure facilitated transactions for sanctioned Russian and Iranian entities.

A7 processed over 10 trillion roubles in 2025, accounting for approximately 19% of Russian companies' international trade settlement volume.

Allowing unlimited cross-border crypto settlements effectively mitigates Western trade sanctions

U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control rules prohibit U.S. virtual currency exchanges and wallet hosts from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions involving blocked Russian entities like Sberbank

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed full blocking sanctions on Sberbank in April 2022 under Executive Order 14024

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

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

The UK government sanctioned payment platforms Tsunami Payments LLC and OJSC Processing KG, alongside Processing KG's director Ulan Bukabaev

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

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office designated Xeltox Enterprises Ltd as the parent company of Cryptomus, Heleket, and Certa Payments Ltd.

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

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

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

Cryptocurrency is an effective tool for Russia to bypass Western sanctions

The Central Bank of Russia softened its stance on cryptocurrency legalization in response to international fiat restrictions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Licensed Russian financial entities Sberbank, VTB, and Atomyze have already been targeted by Western sanctions

Under Japan's October 2, 2026 sanctions, payments and capital transactions involving Garantex and other listed parties require government permission under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified the sanctioned exchange Garantex under its formal name, Garantex Europe OU, listing addresses in St. Petersburg and Moscow