UK hits three crypto exchanges and two payment processors in latest Russia sanctions package
The UK sanctioned three crypto exchanges and two payment processors tied to Russian sanctions evasion and the Kremlin-backed A7 network.
The UK has sanctioned three cryptocurrency exchanges and two payment processors suspected of helping Russian entities move illicit funds, in a package announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on Thursday, 8 October 2026.
The designated exchanges are TokenSpot, Grinex and Meer; the payment processors are Cryptomus and Heleket. Three of the five providers were linked to Kyrgyzstan, the FCDO said, and two carried transactions with the Kremlin-backed A7 network. The office framed the targets as suspected of helping Russian entities circumvent financial sanctions.
The A7 network, which the UK Foreign Ministry cited, claims to have moved more than $90 billion last year, nearly half of Russia’s annual military expenditure. The figure is the network’s own claim, relayed by the UK government rather than independently audited. The Kyrgyzstani TokenSpot exchange was also tied to the A7 network.
The action extends a campaign that reached crypto platforms in May 2026, when UK authorities sanctioned Huobi Global, operator of the HTX exchange. HTX argued the designation applied only to Huobi Global as a separate legal entity and said the exchange and user funds were unaffected, a position the company holds in a live regulatory dispute.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said the two sanctioned payment processors, Cryptomus and Heleket, received funds from thousands of illicit counterparties, peaking at 900 entities in a single month in late 2025. The firm also determined that TokenSpot, Grinex and Meer received more than $308 million from the same HTX deposit address.
The ruble-backed A7A5 stablecoin processed $110 billion in cumulative onchain transactions up to June 2026, according to security firm CertiK, a separate onchain measure from the A7 network’s claimed $90 billion in movement. The official designations are listed in the Sanctions Notice for 8 October 2026, and Chainalysis set out its onchain analysis in a post on 9 October.
