The British Embassy has published a statement saying that cryptocurrency and shadow financial networks used by Russia to evade sanctions are under increased scrutiny. London declares its continued pressure on “Putin’s war machine” in support of Ukraine.
The UK has announced a new package of sanctions against cryptocurrency exchanges and the “A7” network, which London believes is linked to the Kremlin and used to bypass restrictions and finance the war against Ukraine. The sanctions take effect immediately.
According to the British side, the “A7” network uses Kyrgyzstan’s financial systems and may be involved in transferring large sums of money into the Russian war economy.
As part of this package, network-related entities have also been targeted, including a cryptocurrency exchange and a number of companies, among which organizations from Georgia are named.
«In addition, we are targeting three Georgian companies operating exchanges focused on the Russian market that are attempting to bypass sanctions», — the statement says.
The statement by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says that London will adapt sanctions to attempts to bypass them and shut down financial channels supporting Russia’s military actions.
It also cites estimates according to which Russia has lowered its economic growth forecast for this year to 0.4%, which London attributes to the pressure of sanctions.
The UK emphasizes that it will continue to strengthen restrictions alongside its allies to limit Russia’s ability to finance the war against Ukraine.
