The Council of the European Union has barred Russians from access to certain cryptocurrency services as part of a package of restrictive measures against “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal aggression against Ukraine and its people.”
In an announcement made on Friday, The Council of the European Union said it would close potential loopholes in the use of digital assets for Russian entities and individuals to evade sanctions with a “ban on providing high-value crypto asset services” to the country. The move was one of three financial measures the European Commission proposed along with a transaction ban and asset freeze related to four Russian banks, as well as a “ban on providing trust advice to wealthy Russians.”
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed Thursday that Russians hold more than $130 billion in crypto assets, an amount reportedly comparable to the country’s gold holdings, valued at about $140 billion as of March 2022. Although it is unclear whether Russian citizens and banks named in the US and European Union sanctions are attempting to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent these restrictions, the idea persists among many lawmakers and regulators.
The EU has adopted new sanctions in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. These include a ban on:
imports from Russia of coal
Russian vessels from accessing EU ports
Russian and Belarusian road transport operatorsMore ⬇ï¸#StandWithUkraine
— EU Council (@EUCouncil) April 8, 2022
The EU has adopted new sanctions in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. These include the prohibition of:
Coal imports from Russia
Access of Russian ships to EU ports
Russian and Belarusian road transport operators
The European Commission included cryptoassets as part of its targeted sanctions on Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion of Ukraine announced in March. In the United States, the Treasury Department warned companies and individuals not to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions sent to certain Russian citizens and banks.
As lawmakers continue to hint at the possible role of cryptocurrencies in circumventing sanctions, Russia’s oil and gas exports to EU member countries remain a major source of revenue for the country currently attacking Ukraine. The Council of the European Union sanctions package included a ban on importing Russian coal, but did not mention oil and gas. The US Congress on Thursday approved a bill to ban imports of oil and gas from Russia, which make up about 2% of US supply, compared to an average of 20% in Europe.
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