Key Takeaways
- Britain has imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency platform HTX (previously known as Huobi Global) over allegations of assisting Russia in bypassing Western financial restrictions.
- A total of 18 organizations and individuals connected to Russia’s alleged “shadow financial system” were included in the sanctions.
- British authorities utilized Regulation 17A from their Russian sanctions framework on crypto platforms for the first time—a measure historically reserved for traditional banking institutions.
- The A7 payment system stands accused of facilitating more than $90 billion in transactions during the previous year to enable Russian military supply chains.
- British financial institutions and digital asset providers are now obligated to freeze assets and monitor blockchain activity associated with the designated entities.
British regulators have taken unprecedented action against cryptocurrency exchange HTX alongside 17 additional organizations and individuals accused of facilitating Russia’s efforts to bypass Western financial restrictions connected to the Ukraine conflict. This enforcement action represents a watershed moment as UK authorities extend traditional banking sanctions frameworks to the digital asset sector.
Scope of the Enforcement Action
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom identified 18 parties in this sanctions round, including HTX (the rebranded Huobi Global platform), alongside Rapira Group, Aifory, Arvix, and Bitpapa. According to blockchain intelligence provider Elliptic, HTX facilitated approximately $3.3 trillion in transaction volume during the past year.
UK government officials describe the sanctions as targeting Russia’s “shadow financial infrastructure,” which allegedly enables capital movement, goods acquisition, and military operations funding in Ukraine.
The sanctions list also includes the entity behind the gold-pegged USDKG stablecoin—a Kyrgyzstan-based organization known as Open Joint Stock Company “Virtual Asset Issuer.” Multiple individuals were designated as well, including Sergey Mendeleev, Igor Gorin, Irina Akopyan, and Israeli citizen Liran Cohen.
In response to the sanctions, HTX stated that regulatory compliance represents its “absolute top priority” and emphasized its commitment to monitoring and following regulatory standards across all operating jurisdictions.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper declared: “If the Kremlin thinks it can evade our sanctions by hiding behind crypto networks and shadow financial systems, it is gravely mistaken.”
A7 Payment Infrastructure and Enhanced Oversight Requirements
A primary target of this sanctions package involves the A7 payment infrastructure, which British authorities allege processed revenues from Russian petroleum sales while supporting military equipment procurement. Officials claim this network handled over $90 billion in transfers throughout the previous year.
The United Kingdom deployed Regulation 17A from its Russia sanctions framework against the identified cryptocurrency platforms. This regulatory instrument had exclusively applied to sanctioned banking institutions until now.
The updated requirements prohibit UK financial entities and cryptocurrency service operators from maintaining correspondent banking arrangements with the designated organizations. Additional obligations may include asset freezing and blockchain transaction monitoring linked to these platforms.
Elliptic cautioned that compliance verification could extend beyond immediate counterparties to encompass wallets and platforms appearing anywhere within a transaction sequence, spanning multiple blockchain “hops.”
HTX has previously attracted regulatory scrutiny. In 2025, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority initiated legal action against the platform for unauthorized cryptocurrency advertising across TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Russia has faced escalating sanctions from Britain, the European Union, and other nations following its 2022 military intervention in Ukraine. In April 2026, the European Commission rolled out cryptocurrency-focused sanctions addressing stablecoins like A7A5 and digital asset operators connected to Belarus.
Concurrently, Russian legislators have been developing laws that would establish criminal consequences for unregistered digital asset services and mandate central bank registration.
Elliptic observed that international regulators will likely monitor Britain’s approach closely as it pioneers this innovative framework for extending conventional financial sanctions to cryptocurrency markets.
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