The European Union has proposed sanctions against the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, which is linked to sanctioned Russian companies.
The sanctions will exclude any direct or indirect involvement of EU organizations in transactions involving this token. The documents indicate that the bloc intends to impose sanctions on several banks in Russia, Belarus, and Central Asia for facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.
Token A7A5 was issued by A7, a cross-border payments company owned by Moldovan banker Ilan Shor and the Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank. A7 and its subsidiaries have been helping Russian businesses conduct international transactions since the imposition of US sanctions.
Promsvyazbank was hit with UK, EU, and US sanctions in 2022, just like the defunct crypto exchange. GarantexA7 Company has already joined this list this year.
The European Commission typically does not comment on proposed sanctions before they are adopted. In any case, EU sanctions will require the support of all member states and are subject to change before they are approved.
According to Elliptic’s calculations, as of September 26, there were 41,6 billion A7A5 tokens in circulation, worth $496 million. The total value of all A7A5 transactions at that time was $68 billion.
The A7 Group Internal Settlement Scheme, which shows how A7 processes cross-border payments.