Following the decision made by Russia to invade Ukraine, several countries such as the United Kingdom as well as the United States have imposed different economic sanctions against Russia. However, most of these nations have a belief that Russia might be utilizing cryptocurrency in order to evade these sanctions.
According to cryptocurrency breaking news today, the U.K. Regulators have mentioned that the usage of cryptocurrency and other digital assets in order to circumvent the different economic sanctions is basically a criminal offense.
Hence, the European Union as well as the United States have made an announcement of taking different new measures and actions that would target the economy of Russia as well as all the wealthy individuals of the country. The reason behind such actions is the detailed report that suggests all the allies of Putin have attempted to evade the sanctions using different crypto assets in foreign countries.
In an announcement made on Friday, the White House mentioned that leadership from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union will take additional measures that aim to economically isolate Russia.
This is basically in response to President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine. This will include the banning of different imports of Russian goods, exporting of luxury goods banning, etc.
“Treasury’s expansive actions against Russia require all U.S. persons to comply with sanctions regulations regardless of whether a transaction is denominated in traditional fiat currency or virtual currency,” mentioned the White House.
“Treasury is closely monitoring any efforts to circumvent or violate Russia-related sanctions, including through the use of virtual currency, and is committed to using its broad enforcement authorities to act against violations and to promote compliance.”
Different Policies to Limit the Economic Conditions of Russia Are Being Made
The policy of the United States is a section of a synchronized effort with the European Union and G7 nations to “collectively ramp up pressure on Putin” and execute extra financial limitations on Russia. On Wednesday, the European Commission mentioned that its member states have decided to amend certain regulations with the goal of ensuring “even more effectively that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented, including through Belarus,” specifically mentioning the possible use of crypto assets.
Regulatory agencies and government departments across many countries enacting such economic measures against Russia have also warned individuals and businesses dealing in crypto of possible enforcement actions.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that the U.S. Justice Department will be forming a new task force aimed at freezing or seizing the crypto holdings of wealthy Russian individuals as well as investigating those banks and crypto firms that help entities named under sanctions for money laundering.
In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority and Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a joint statement warning crypto firms to “play their part in ensuring that sanctions are complied with.”
“Financial sanctions regulations do not differentiate between crypto-assets and other forms of assets,” said the U.K. regulators. “The use of crypto assets to circumvent economic sanctions is a criminal offense.”
Though some U.S. officials have said Russian individuals and businesses will face difficulty using crypto to evade such sudden and comprehensive sanctions, a Friday report from Reuters suggested they may be turning to the United Arab Emirates for solutions. The news outlet reported that crypto firms in the country had received multiple inquiries about using crypto to purchase property or liquidate large amounts of digital assets.
According to the cryptocurrency breaking news today, some crypto exchanges have made a refusal to accept the requests from Ukraine to block all addresses from Russian users. However, Coinbase and Kraken (both with headquarters in the United States) mentioned they would freeze the assets of different individuals that are mentioned in the sanctions.
Also Read: Crypto Trading News Today: Crypto Executives React to Different Economic Sanction Against Russia
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