The European Union passed the nineteenth round of sanctions against Russia on Thursday, marking the first restrictions on cryptocurrency platforms since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
The measure prohibits Russian domestic cryptocurrency payment service providers and related payment software from operating or providing services within the EU. The sanctions also target Russian energy companies and banks. Additionally, entities from China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Hong Kong, and the UAE that assist Moscow in evading previous restrictions are also included in the sanctions.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stated, "We have just passed the nineteenth round of sanctions, targeting Russian energy, banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and related entities such as China. The EU has also regulated the actions of Russian diplomats to counter attempts to undermine stability."
The European Council noted that Russia is increasingly using digital assets to evade financial sanctions.
The Council stated on Thursday, "Recent activities show that Russia's use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions is on the rise."
The sanctions include a ban on the A7A5 stablecoin and related platforms from operating in the EU, which EU authorities describe as "a significant tool supporting the financing of aggressive wars."
The sanctions also include a ban on the Kyrgyz issuer of the stablecoin and an unnamed digital asset platform operator due to their substantial involvement in A7A5 stablecoin transactions.
Furthermore, the EU has banned at least eight banks and oil traders from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong, and the UAE from conducting transactions to prevent sanction evasion.
The EU proposed banning Russian cryptocurrency platforms on September 19 and subsequently discussed issues related to prohibiting the A7A5 stablecoin.
Reuters reported in March, citing anonymous sources, that Russian oil companies have used Bitcoin and Tether to evade sanctions, with monthly payments reaching tens of millions of dollars.
In July, two Russian citizens residing in New York were charged with assisting sanctioned Russian entities in making payments.
Iurii Gugnin (Iurii Gugnin, George Goognin, Iurii Mashukov) was charged with 22 criminal counts for allegedly laundering over $540 million through his cryptocurrency company Evita Investments and Evita Pay.
Related: The biggest financial regret of young Australians: Ignoring $400 worth of Bitcoin (BTC)
Original: “EU Sanctions Russian A7A5 Stablecoin and Crypto Exchanges”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
