Britain sanctions crypto exchange HTX over Russian support

LONDON: Britain on Tuesday said it sanctioned 18 more entities helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions, including cryptocurrency exchange HTX, which it suspected funnelled US$1.5 billion to the Kremlin.

The Foreign Office said Huobi Global SA, registered in Panama and operating HTX, helped the Russian cryptocurrency exchange platform Garantex and the A7 group, both strategic for Moscow.

“The A7 network is a Kremlin-backed system designed to bypass Western sanctions, finance military procurement, and process funds from the sale of oil to fund its war economy,” it said in a statement.

“The network claimed to have moved more than US$90 billion last year — equivalent to roughly half of Russia’s yearly military expenditure.”

The Foreign Office said the group used a Kyrgyz bank and a major cryptocurrency exchange platform to channel, according to its estimates, US$1.5 billion back into Russia.

Tom Robinson, an analyst at Elliptic, confirmed to AFP that this amount concerns HTX as “it was the only global crypto exchange added to their sanctions list today”.

The sanctions include restrictions on correspondent banking relationships and payments involving designated entities, such as HTX.

HTX is notably behind the A7A5 stablecoin — a digital currency pegged to the ruble — and conceived as an alternative payment channel for Russian businesses and individuals trading with foreign countries.

HTX has said it expected to reach a trading volume of US$3.3 trillion in 2025, according to the analysis firm.

The company is advised by Chinese-born entrepreneur Justin Sun — a former ally of the family of US President Donald Trump — who in April sued World Liberty Financial for fraud.

That cryptocurrency platform, partially controlled by the American presidential family, is accused by him of restricting access to his crypto holdings.

In February, the UK markets regulator had already asked several social networks to block British users’ access to HTX’s accounts, as the platform lacks the necessary authorisation to promote its services in the country.

Contacted for comment, HTX and the Foreign Office did not comment on the move.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today