SFMS Reports Blocking Russian Crypto Exchanges

Ukraine’s financial monitoring agency has restricted access to several online crypto exchanges operating out of Russia. 

SFMS (State Financial Monitoring Service), Ukraine’s Financial Intelligence Unit has issued a special report on the impacts of its procedures in 2022. The agency mentioned its contribution to the country’s defence as part of the ongoing contention with Russia, besides the peacetime activities such as combating money laundering. 

The financial watchdog reported that,  its team has joined hands with colleagues from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and leading Ukrainian crypto experts in a document published this week. Working together, they were able to identify Russian crypto exchange networks that are working in alliance with Russian financial institutions identified in the sanctions, including Sber, the largest bank in Russia. 

SFMS did not specify the exact number of these platforms or their domain names but emphasised the aim was to block them fully. Working closely with Ukrainian service providers, SFMS introduced a mechanism for “blocking of crypto wallets of the Russian Federation.” It is unclear whether it means Russian wallets in general linked to those governments in Moscow.

The state service recalled that last year it turned to Binance, the world’s largest crypto network suggesting actions “to curb the aggression of the Russian Federation in the virtual assets market” and stop P2P (Peer-to-Peer) transactions for users of different Russian banks and payment systems.

“Other practical measures related to the blocking of Russian crypto assets and operations of Russian residents have been implemented,” the agency added without elaborating. The unit has been in cooperation with monetary regulators of almost 140 nations on the case while suiting ties with authorities in Russia and Belarus.

The SFMS noted that its involvement between Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova with a steadily expanding crypto market and mining industry, concentrated on reducing money laundering via digital investments. The undertaking is being recognised with assistance from the UN and OSCE. 

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