CryptoSlate
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office sanctioned 18 entities and individuals on May 26, including HTX (formerly Huobi) and the A7 network, for allegedly helping Russia circumvent Western restrictions. The action marks the first time Britain has applied Regulation 17A of its Russia sanctions regime — a tool previously reserved for sanctioned banks — to crypto exchanges, requiring UK financial firms to freeze funds and sever correspondent relationships with the named entities.
The primary target is A7, a Kremlin-backed settlement system founded in October 2024 that the UK says processed more than $90 billion in 2025 — roughly half of Russia's annual military spending. Majority owner Ilan Shor, an Israeli-Moldovan oligarch convicted in 2017 for his role in the theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks and later granted Russian citizenship, sits alongside minority stakeholder Promsvyazbank, a Russian state-owned bank sanctioned in 2022 for financing the military-industrial complex. Vladimir Putin attended the virtual opening of A7's Vladivostok branch in September 2025; the network has since expanded into Lagos and Harare. A7A5, the ruble-backed stablecoin issued by Old Vector LLC and backed by ruble deposits at Promsvyazbank, processed $93.3 billion in transactions in under a year, according to Chainalysis — designed to function like USDT while resisting the centralised freeze controls that disabled Garantex in March 2025.
Why it matters
Extending banking-grade legal instruments to crypto exchanges is a structural shift: regulators now treat parts of the digital asset industry as infrastructure equivalent to formal financial institutions, not as parallel rails outside the perimeter. The UK action follows the EU's twentieth Russia sanctions package in April 2026, which already targeted A7A5 and its service layer — coordinated Western enforcement is closing in on stablecoin-native evasion routes that took shape after Tether froze Garantex-linked wallets. TRM Labs traced $4.9 billion in direct transfers from HTX to UK-designated entities since 2021, including $1.95 billion to Garantex in 2022 and $838 million to A7 in 2025 alone.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is Regulation 17A and why does applying it to crypto exchanges matter?
Regulation 17A is a UK Russia-sanctions tool previously reserved for sanctioned banks. It forces UK financial firms to freeze funds and sever correspondent relationships with designated entities. Applying it to crypto exchanges for the first time treats digital asset venues as equivalent to formal banking…
-
What is the A7 network and how much did it allegedly process?
A7 is a Kremlin-backed settlement system founded in October 2024. The UK government says it processed more than $90 billion in 2025 — roughly half of Russia's annual military spending. Majority owner Ilan Shor was convicted in 2017 over the theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks; minority stakeholder Promsvyazbank…
-
What is A7A5 and how does it differ from USDT?
A7A5 is a ruble-backed stablecoin issued by Old Vector LLC, settled through ruble deposits at Promsvyazbank. It is designed to function like USDT for cross-border trade while resisting the centralised freeze controls that took down Garantex in March 2025. Chainalysis says it processed $93.3 billion in under a year.
-
How much crypto flowed from HTX to sanctioned Russian entities?
TRM Labs traced $4.9 billion in direct transfers from HTX to UK-designated entities since 2021, including $1.95 billion to Garantex in 2022 and $838 million to A7 in 2025 alone. The UK also estimates one exchange in the network channeled at least $1.5 billion back toward the Kremlin.
-
How does the UK action fit with broader Western enforcement on Russian crypto evasion?
The UK action extends the EU's twentieth Russia sanctions package from April 2026, which already targeted A7A5 and its service layer. Chainalysis's 2026 Crypto Crime Report puts sanctions evasion via crypto at $104 billion in 2025, up 694% year-on-year, with stablecoins driving 84% of illicit transaction value.
TheBlock
WuBlockchain
CoinTelegraph
CoinDesk
Lookonchain