European Commission Launches Crypto Task Force on Russia Sanctions Evasion

The European Commission has launched a crypto sanctions task force to address evasion of restrictions on Russia, bringing specialists together as the EU expands its controls on digital asset services.

After a Nov. 5 sanctions enforcement meeting, financial services Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque announced the task force. The informal group will draw on Commission and member-state expertise to examine how crypto assets are used to bypass existing measures and develop responses.

“We will not allow new technologies or third-country jurisdictions to become safe havens for sanctions evasion,” Albuquerque said.

The Commission is also creating a separate sanctions office to provide member states with faster guidance, data sharing, and economic and technical analysis. The task force’s launch did not impose a new transaction ban.

The EU prohibited transactions involving A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin, on Oct. 23, 2025. The same sanctions package targeted the stablecoin’s developer, its Kyrgyz issuer and a related trading platform.

On April 23, 2026, the EU imposed a sector-wide ban on crypto providers and platforms established in Russia that enable transfers or exchanges. A July 23 package extended transaction restrictions to 14 crypto-related service platforms in six countries. It also introduced the possibility of a full ban involving third-country crypto providers used by Russia, including transactions between those providers and EU operators.

The U.K. separately sanctioned three crypto exchanges and two payment platforms. It identified two of the five as having handled transactions tied to Russia’s A7 network.

At a separate EU sanctions forum on Nov. 6, representatives from the United States, the U.K. and other countries discussed crypto-related evasion. Ukrainian officials joined a dedicated session.