Melker Bengtsson
TL;DR
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The UK has sanctioned three exchanges and two payment platforms over ties to Russia. Three are Kyrgyz, one owned by the finance ministry.
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Xeltox Enterprises, owner of Cryptomus and Heleket, was seeded by Garantex and fined almost CAD 177 million in Canada last year.
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TokenSpot has been identified by TRM Labs as a front for Garantex/Grinex and has sent them almost a billion dollars.
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This time the UK sanctioned Cryptomus and its rebranded entity Heleket in one fell swoop.
The UK has sanctioned three exchanges and two payment platforms over ties to Russia. Three of the platforms are Kyrgyz, of which one is owned by the finance ministry. Two of the sanctioned businesses handled transactions for Kremlin-backed network A7, the UK says.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a press release:
The message is simple: if you help Russia fund or equip this war, you will face the consequences.
This is not the first time the UK has issued a crypto heavy sanctions package against Russia. Back in May of this year, they sanctioned 18 entities and individuals including Huobi, Exmo and A7's network itself.
Cryptomus, Heleket and the KYC Switch
One of the sanctioned companies, Xeltox Enterprises has been in trouble in Canada before. The company owns both Cryptomus and Heleket. The latter was started just a month before Cryptomus started requiring KYC from its customers. When the KYC requirement took effect, Cryptomus volume suddenly dropped from $153 million to $86 million, while Heleket's shot up.
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs uncovered that the two companies, owned by the same parent, shared staff, infrastructure, branding and fees of 0.4%. Canadian authorities fined Xeltox almost CAD 177 million in October 2025 for anti-money laundering failures.
From Garantex to Grinex to TokenSpot
And it doesn't stop there for Xeltox Enterprises. They were originally seeded by Russian exchange Garantex. Garantex was sanctioned in 2022 and seized in 2025. After its seizure, Grinex appeared, identified as a rebrand by TRM Labs, and was sanctioned by both the US and UK last August.
TokenSpot, one of the exchanges the UK sanctioned yesterday, has also been identified by TRM Labs as a front for Garantex/Grinex. Grinex, Garantex and A7 have been the largest counterparties of TokenSpot, TokenSpot has sent them almost a billion dollars.
There's also a state owned company on the list. Processing KG is owned by the finance ministry in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan has been heavily involved with Russian efforts to use crypto to get around sanctions. For example, A7's ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 is issued there.
The UK is becoming more effective at identifying the companies to sanction. Garantex simply rebranded to Grinex, which was allowed to run for a while. It then set up a front, TokenSpot, which was allowed to run for a while. But this time, the UK sanctioned Cryptomus and its rebranded entity Heleket in one fell swoop.
