Earlier this week, the EU announced new sanctions against Russian nationals leading cryptocurrency firms and projects.
The relevant section of the new sanctions list, published on Dec. 18, reads:
” … Today’s decision includes a ban on Russian nationals from owning, controlling or holding any posts on the governing bodies of the legal persons, entities or bodies providing crypto-asset wallet, account or custody services to Russian persons and residents.”
The mention of “accounts” implies that Russian nationals are barred from leading crypto exchanges and trading platforms, though the exact account services that fall under the scope of the ban are not fully explained in the notice.
The current batch of sanctions is the EU’s twelfth package against Russia and is intended to limit circumventions of earlier crypto-related sanctions. The EU previously prohibited the provision of crypto wallets and other services to Russian individuals in its eighth sanctions package in October 2022. However, it did not ban individuals from holding key roles in crypto companies at the time.
The latest anti-circumvention goals have been in progress since at least March 2023. At that time, Reuters reported that the EU intended to introduce new rules to prevent Russia from circumventing sanctions with cryptocurrency.
Certain Russian nationals face charges elsewhere
Outside of the EU, certain Russian nationals involved in cryptocurrency business operations have faced sanctions and criminal prosecution.
Notable Russian nationals who have led cryptocurrency services include BTC-e founders Alexander Vinnik and Aleksey Bilyuchenko and Bitzlato owner Anatoly Legkodymov. Legkodymov pleaded guilty to charges in the U.S. on Dec. 6. Vinnik and Bilyuchenko were charged in the U.S. in June; Vinnik was previously sentenced by courts in France. Both BTC-e and Bitzlato have been shut down.
Another relevant individual is Roman Semenov, a Russian national who co-founded the decentralized coin mixer Tornado Cash. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged but was unable to locate Semenov in August 2023. The U.S. Treasury additionally sanctioned Semenov at that time.
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