U.K. Sanctions 18 Entities and Persons for Evading Russian Trade Blockades

The U.K. sanctioned 18 entities and individuals comprising the “A7 Network” — including major exchanges such as HTX (formerly Huobi) and platforms tied to Grinex and Garantex — for facilitating large-scale sanctions evasion that supported Russia’s economy and war efforts. The package targets crypto rails and a Kyrgyzstan-issued ruble-backed stablecoin (A7A5), alleges billions in illicit flows (claims include $1.5B via HTX and $93B A7A5 trading volume), and imposes UK asset freezes and a ban on correspondent banking/payment processing with designated entities.