UK sanctions Cryptomus operator and Kyrgyz crypto firms over suspected Russia sanctions evasion

The U.K. government has sanctioned a group of crypto firms suspected of helping Russia evade financial sanctions. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said on Oct. 8 that its 38 new Russia-related designations include three crypto exchanges, two payment platforms and one individual linked to them. The U.K. sanctions list updated the same day names the operator of crypto payment service Cryptomus.

Cryptomus operator and three Kyrgyz firms

According to the sanctions list, the designations include Xeltox Enterprises, which gives an address in Vancouver, Canada. The government said there are reasonable grounds to suspect the company has been carrying on business in the Russian financial services sector, a sector of strategic significance to the Russian government, through its ownership of Cryptomus and activities continued via Heleket. Certa Payments is listed as another name for the same company.

The rest are all based in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

• TokenSpot: suspected of doing business in the Russian financial services sector
• Tsunami Payments: same grounds, with an office in the same building as TokenSpot
• Processing KG: the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance is listed as its parent company, and director Ulan Bukabaev was also sanctioned personally

The FCDO said two of the businesses processed transactions with A7, a Kremlin-backed illicit finance network. The U.K. regards A7 as a channel for getting around sanctions on Russia's financial sector, and A7 itself claimed last year to have moved more than $90 billion. The government said that is roughly half of Russia's annual military spending.

U.K. banks cut off from their payments

The firms face an asset freeze, a ban on trust services and director disqualification sanctions. U.K. credit and financial institutions may not establish or continue correspondent banking relationships with them, or process payments to, from or via them. Internet services sanctions also apply, meaning social media services, internet access services and app stores must take reasonable steps to prevent U.K. users from reaching their sites and apps. Bukabaev received an asset freeze and a travel ban.

The package also covers Russian oil companies Zarubezhneft and INK-Capital, as well as 12 more tankers from the so-called shadow fleet. "The message is simple: if you help Russia fund or equip this war, you will face the consequences," the FCDO said.

A record Canadian penalty a year earlier

Cryptomus's operator has already clashed with Canadian authorities. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) announced on Oct. 22, 2025 that it had imposed an administrative monetary penalty of C$176.96 million on Xeltox. It is the largest penalty FINTRAC has issued. FINTRAC said Xeltox, a British Columbia company formerly known as Certa Payments, failed to submit suspicious transaction reports on 1,068 occasions in July 2024 alone. Those transactions involved suspected laundering of proceeds from child sexual abuse material trafficking, fraud, ransomware payments and sanctions evasion, FINTRAC said. The company also failed to report receipts of C$10,000 or more in virtual currency on 1,518 occasions.

From Garantex to HTX, a growing list

The U.K.'s Russia-related crypto sanctions have widened over several years. The designation dates on the sanctions list are as follows.

1. May 4, 2022Crypto exchange Garantex Europe
2. May 20, 2025Illicit finance network A7
3. Aug. 20, 2025Exchange Grinex and other firms linked to the ruble-backed token A7A5
4. May 26, 2026Exchanges including HTX (formerly Huobi) and EXMO
5. June 16, 2026A7 Agent
6. Oct. 8, 2026Xeltox (Cryptomus), TokenSpot and others

When it sanctioned Grinex in August 2025, the U.K. government described A7A5 as a token designed to evade Western sanctions and said $9.3 billion had moved through a dedicated exchange in four months.