G7 Deepens Sanctions Against Russia, Urges Crypto Exchanges to Block Transactions

“The transfer and payment of all property and interests in the United States, which are hereafter to enter into the United States, or which have come into the possession or control of any of the following persons, are prohibited from exporting, withdrawing or otherwise dealing with… Deceptive or organized transactions or transactions to circumvent any US sanctions, including through the use of digital currencies or assets, or the use of physical assets.”

It also turns out that the European Union will prepare measures in the crypto sector so as not to contribute to Russia’s evasion of financial sanctions imposed by member states over its military attack on Ukraine, as agreed on Wednesday by the twenty-first economy and finance ministers. Seven. This was explained by the French Minister and the EU’s rotating presidency, Bruno Le Maire, who reported that the 27 countries agreed on the need to work on “complementary measures” that would increase the effectiveness of the sanctions that had been imposed. , such as the paralysis of the Russian Central Bank or the freezing of its assets.

Yesterday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhailo Fedorov took to Twitter to urge “all major cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian users’ addresses.”

“I ask all major cryptocurrency exchanges to block the addresses of Russian users,” he said on his official Twitter account. “It is necessary to freeze not only addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.”

All of the above is evidence that Western governments understand that largely unregulated digital currencies, some of which are difficult to trace internationally, offer a potential way for sanctioned individuals to avoid. Although US Treasury regulations apply only to US entities, federal officials require exchanges around the world to comply. “In all likelihood, we can expect similar guidance from government departments in the UK, Europe and other countries in the coming days,” Koenijk said.

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While US entities will quickly comply with Treasury regulations, most exchanges have rejected the Ukrainian government’s request to block Russian IP addresses and freeze Russian and Belarusian assets. The request came directly from Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

While some, like Ukraine-based digital asset platform DMarket, complied with the request, others like Binance, Coinbase and Kraken refused.

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