Summary
- The European Union has expanded its Russia sanctions to target the A7 cross-border payments network, including its new links to Africa, and the A7A5 stablecoin used for sanctions evasion.
- The latest package widens a transaction ban to 14 crypto-related platforms in countries including Georgia, the UAE and Panama, and introduces a tool that could allow a full ban on crypto-asset services used by Russia.
- Alongside the digital asset measures, the EU is freezing assets and banning transactions for 94 banks and major financial institutions, and extending its transaction ban to 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions.
The European Union (EU) extended sanctions against Russia to include four designations related to the cross-border A7 network, including its new links to Africa.
The EU is also extending its transaction ban to 14 unnamed crypto-related service platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
Chainalysis recently noted that on the A7 network, where the A7A5 stablecoin operates, has processed nearly $120 billion to date and that it is purposely built for Russias sanctions evasion.
“We‘re hitting over a hundred banks and crypto operators, 40+ vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet, and several oil refineries in Russia and Belarus,” Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and chair of the Foreign Affairs Council, said in a statement.
The EU announced its previous package of sanctions against Russia in April, saying it was the “biggest package” of sanctions against the country in two years. In that statement, the EU said “Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on cryptocurrencies for international transactions.”