Kyrgyzstan calls on the US - UK to lift sanctions targeting the crypto network

President #Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov has sent a letter urging the leaders of the US and UK after London imposed sanctions on domestic crypto companies, accusing them of helping Russia evade financial restrictions through stablecoin A7A5 linked to the ruble.

According to the UK Foreign Office, at least four Kyrgyz companies along with several entities in Luxembourg have been blacklisted, including the exchanges Grinex and Meer, suspected of being 'clones' of Garantex – the Russian exchange that was previously sanctioned. On-chain analyses show that these platforms share wallet addresses, founders, and contact information similar to Garantex, raising suspicions of systematic money laundering.

Stablecoin #A7A5 – issued in Kyrgyzstan, operating on Ethereum and Tron – has processed up to $9.3 billion in just 4 months, becoming the main tool in the suspicious capital flow to Moscow.

In the context of the Ukraine war, Kyrgyzstan has emerged as a trade and crypto transit hub for Russia. In 2024, bilateral trade reached $3.5 billion, while Russian investment increased by nearly 25%. However, this has led to the Central Asian nation being closely monitored by the West.

Despite Kyrgyzstan's booming crypto sector – even inviting Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao as an advisor – the new sanctions from the UK are expected to 'complicate' underground financial networks linked to Russia and increase pressure on the Kremlin. #anh_ba_cong