The European Union has added 14 crypto service platforms and 94 banks and financial institutions to its latest sanctions package against Russia, widening its focus from Russian entities to providers in third countries that EU officials say were used for Russia-linked transfers.
Adopted on July 23, the bloc’s 21st sanctions package includes 218 new listings in total, made up of 48 individuals and 170 entities. The Council of the European Union described it as the largest set of new listings it has adopted in four years.
Crypto and banking restrictions
According to the Council, the crypto measures cover service providers based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. EU authorities said those platforms were connected to services used by Russia to bypass existing financial restrictions.
The new package bars EU operators from carrying out transactions with the 14 listed crypto platforms. The Council did not frame all of them as Russian businesses, instead emphasizing their location in foreign jurisdictions and their alleged role in facilitating Russian-linked transfers.
The financial side of the package also imposes asset freezes and a ban on making funds available to the 94 listed banks and major financial institutions. In a separate step, the Council expanded its transaction ban to 33 more Russian credit and financial organizations, preventing EU companies and individuals from doing business with them.
Four non-Russian banks were also hit with transaction bans. The Council said one is a Kyrgyz bank linked to Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages, or SPFS, and accused three other foreign banks of helping entities evade EU sanctions.
New power over whole jurisdictions
Alongside the individual listings, the EU introduced a broader tool aimed specifically at crypto. Under the new mechanism, the bloc can prohibit crypto-asset services tied to an entire third country if that jurisdiction hosts providers that help Russia evade sanctions.
The Council said this would allow the EU to ban transactions between EU operators and crypto providers used by Russia, presenting the measure as a deterrent for jurisdictions that continue to host such payment routes.
The package also includes four designations linked to the A7 cross-border payments network, including entities tied to its activity in Africa. EU authorities have previously pointed to payment channels in third countries as part of Russia’s efforts to preserve access to international financial services after restrictions on its banking sector.
Broader package spans oil, shipping and defense
The crypto and banking measures form part of a much larger sanctions round touching energy, shipping and military supply chains. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was targeting more than 100 banks and crypto operators, more than 40 vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet and several refineries in Russia and Belarus.
The Council added 41 vessels to its shadow-fleet list, bringing the total number covered by related restrictions to 673. It also listed eight entities and one individual linked to shadow-fleet operations and, for the first time, included a crewing agency accused of assisting the fleet.
In the oil sector, the package designates 18 entities and one individual, including three Russian refineries, a major Belarusian refinery and a company set up to sell Belarusian petroleum products in Russia. A Georgian refinery in Kulevi will face a transaction ban after a six-month transition period because of what the Council described as its role in trading and processing Russian oil.
Defense-linked listings and trade limits
The package also adds 56 people and companies associated with Russia’s defense industry, including 37 listings tied to long-range drone production and supply chains. Another 51 entities were placed under tighter export controls for dual-use goods and technology, including companies in China, India, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the UAE.
Trade restrictions were expanded to cover materials and equipment used in aircraft, drones, missiles and corrosion-resistant engine coatings. The EU also moved to limit imports worth more than €60 million a year, including certain ores, metals, glassware and vehicle parts that it said generate revenue for Russia.
The latest package builds on earlier EU financial restrictions that already cover Russia’s central bank, more than 100 Russian banks and specified crypto-related services, including some activity involving wallets, accounts and custody. The Council says those measures are designed to stop crypto businesses and alternative payment channels from being used to work around sanctions on conventional finance.
Source: crypto.news