To Fortify Sanctions, EU Weighs Total Block on Cryptocurrency Dealings with Russia
Officials in the European Union are considering imposing a full ban on cryptocurrency transactions with Russian entities, a significant step to tighten the enforcement of sanctions intended to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The Financial Times reports, based on a viewed document, that the plan specifically aims to disrupt “copycat Russian crypto entities spun out of already sanctioned platforms” allegedly used to facilitate prohibited trading.
Furthermore, the proposed package includes action against Kyrgyzstan, proposing an export ban on certain dual-use goods following allegations that companies based there supplied electronics for Russian drones and weapons.
The document notes an almost 800 percent rise in EU imports to Kyrgyzstan and a staggering 1,200 percent jump in Kyrgyz exports to Russia since the conflict began, trends it says “demonstrates a continuing and particularly high risk of circumvention” of the EU’s sanctions regime.
