HTX crypto exchange sanctioned by UK for dealings with Russia
The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has sanctioned 18 cryptocurrency exchanges, payment providers, and individuals for helping Russia bypass international trade blockades using digital assets, including HTX crypto exchange formerly known as Huobi, as well as UAE Ajman based BitPapa.
In 2024, HTX announced it had received an in-principle approval from FSRA in ADGM, but today on ADGM business registry and FSRA registry there is no entity with the name HTX listed.
HTX crypto exchange is suspected of channeling over $1.5 billion to Russia through flows from previously sanctioned entities like Grinext and Garantex. HTX processed $3.3 trillion in trading volume in 2025
The U.K’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sanctioned 18 crypto exchanges, banks, and individuals using crypto – including Kyrgyzstan’s gold-backed stablecoin – to help Russia bypass international trade blockades.
The package targets the A7 network, a group of companies and individuals that claimed to last year move $90 billion into Russia’s economy using crypto – more than half of the country’s annual military budget.
In May 2025 FCDO sanctioned A7 LLC, a Russian company that supports the Russian Ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. The more expansive sanctions package issued today goes after many other companies connected to A7, which issues the A7A5 stablecoin.
In August 2025, Chainalysis investigated the A7A5 stablecoin, which is issued in Kyrgyzstan, and notched $93 billion in trading volume in its first year, according to Chainalysis’ Crypto Crime Report. Most of that flowed through exchanges with strong Russian ties.
Many of the newly-sanctioned entities have direct exposure to Grinex and Garantex.
The U.K’s action targets 18 crypto exchanges, banks, and individuals that comprise the “A7 Network” of companies supporting the Russian regime through cryptocurrency transfers.
Entities and individuals involved in supporting the Russian financial sector:
EXMO EXCHANGE LIMITED
ARVIX LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
RAPIRA GROUP LLC
ALISTERA LIMITED
SOOTY LTD
AIFORY LLC
BITPAPA IC FZC LLC
OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY “EURASIAN SAVINGS BANK”
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY “DIAMOND ESTATE”
TRACE ROAD LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Igor Olegovich GORIN
Irina Rafaelyevna AKOPYAN
Sergey MENDELEEV
The sanctions place restrictions on UK businesses’ and individuals’ interactions with the targeted entities. They have two facets, one is asset freezes which prohibits any UK citizen or business from dealing with funds or economic resources owned, held, or controlled by the designated entities. It further prevents any funds from being provided to, or for the benefit of, these persons. For the exchanges in the A7 Network, this means a total freeze on any assets touched by UK jurisdiction.
The other facet is correspondent Banking and Payment Processing. This specifically targets the “plumbing” of the financial system. UK financial institutions are prohibited from establishing or continuing a correspondent banking relationship with designated persons. Most critically, Regulation 17A(2) prohibits UK firms from processing any inbound or outbound transfers with a designated entity.
Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper said, If the Kremlin thinks it can evade our sanctions by hiding behind crypto networks and shadow financial systems, it is gravely mistaken. The UK is adapting and strengthening our approach to target the evolving tactics Russia is using to evade restrictions. We are going after the infrastructure that underpins its war economy at the same time as Ukraine is increasing the pressure on Russia on the battlefield.”
He added, “We are tracking down and shutting off the financial lifelines that sustain Putin’s war machine. There will be no safe havens for those enabling Russia’s aggression. We will continue to act fast and decisively, alongside our allies, to expose, disrupt and dismantle these networks, and ensure those enabling Russia’s aggression face consequences.”
HTX responds to Sanctions
HTX is escalating its response to the UK sanctions controversy, warning that ordinary users are being pulled into wider exchange risk controls even when their activity involves normal deposits, withdrawals or trading.
HTX’s response centered on separation between the listed entity and the live exchange platform. The exchange said the UK designation arrived without prior notice or supporting evidence shared with the company, and that Huobi Global S.A. is distinct from the online HTX exchange. It added that global operations remain unaffected and user funds are safe.
Sun, who describes himself as an advisor to HTX, said he was first made aware of the developments on Tuesday and would monitor the situation closely. His response emphasized compliance with applicable laws and cooperation with law-enforcement agencies worldwide.
The new HTX user-trust appeal shifts the focus to spillover effects. HTX says third-party risk-control and security systems have applied broad tags to addresses with financial interaction involving HTX, leaving some users facing transfer restrictions, trading limits or asset freezes on other platforms. The concern is no longer only whether HTX itself can operate. It is whether funds that touch HTX become harder to move across the centralized exchange ecosystem.
That is a serious market-structure issue. Centralized exchanges depend on interoperability: users expect to move assets between platforms, wallets and OTC routes without becoming trapped by indirect exposure. Once one major exchange becomes a high-risk node, risk engines can start treating connected wallets as suspicious, even if the users are not sanctioned parties and can show normal source-of-funds history.
