UK imposes sanctions on Kyrgyz companies used by Russia to launder money

London on Wednesday added to its sanctions list a financial network in Kyrgyzstan used by Russia to evade previous economic restrictions.

The UK government explained that as sanctions on Russia were tightened, Moscow began to use Kyrgyzstan’s financial sector to transfer funds through opaque financial networks, including via cryptocurrency.

The UK has therefore imposed sanctions on Kyrgyz bank Capital Bank and its director, Kantemir Chalbayev, as well as on the cryptocurrency exchanges Grinex and Meer, which transferred US$9.3 billion over a four-month period.

"Keeping up the pressure on Russia’s war machine is vital to reinforcing President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine and force Putin to engage in meaningful talks," the UK government said.

The UK has already imposed sanctions on more than 2,700 individuals and legal entities involved in or supporting Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

The United Kingdom and the European Union are preparing to impose sanctions against Russia if Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin refuses to take part in trilateral talks with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Earlier, European Council President António Costa said a Russian ceasefire is the EU’s top priority in Ukraine peace talks, otherwise the EU will ratchet up sanctions pressure.