SecurityCrypto

U.K. Sanctions Cryptomus for RU Money Laundering

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 17/10/2026, 11:48:24 UTC.

Briefings

The United Kingdom sanctioned Cryptomus, formerly Certa Payments and Xeltox Enterprises, for processing payments benefiting Russian financial institutions. Sanctions froze assets at U.K. banks and barred British companies from operating the platform. The platform changed its name to Heleket in 2025 after Canada fined it $176 million for anti-money laundering violations. Blockchain analysis by Chainalysis and TRM Labs identified over $7 billion in transactions since 2022, including illicit funds from ransomware, narcotics, and child sexual abuse material vendors. The U.K. is the first Five Eyes country to sanction a cryptocurrency operation incorporated in another Five Eyes jurisdiction.

Key points

• The United Kingdom issued sanctions against Cryptomus on October 8, 2026, freezing assets at U.K. banks and barring British companies from operating the platform.
• Cryptomus changed its name to Heleket in 2025 following a $176 million CAD fine from Canada for anti-money laundering violations.

Context

Cryptomus serves as a major conduit for payments related to ransomware, narcotics, darknet markets, and fraud services that help Russia circumvent financial restrictions. The platform has been a key payment processor for dozens of Russian cryptocurrency exchanges and websites hawking cybercrime services since emerging in 2022.

Limitations

Evidence covers the U.K. sanctions issued on October 8, 2026, and the platform's name change to Heleket in 2025. It does not include details on the specific Russian entities processed, the full scope of illicit counterparties beyond the 900+ mentioned in late 2025, or the operational status of the sanctioned platform after the sanctions were implemented.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 19/10/2026, 02:08:35 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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