The European Union has approved its largest set of new Russia sanctions listings in four years, targeting 14 crypto service platforms and 94 banks and major financial institutions as it tightens efforts to stop Moscow skirting existing restrictions.
Adopted on 23 July as the bloc’s 21st sanctions package against Russia, the measures cover 218 new listings in total – 48 individuals and 170 entities – and extend across the financial sector, energy, military suppliers and organisations accused of facilitating sanctions evasion.
According to the Council of the European Union, the crypto-related measures focus on providers based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. EU authorities say these platforms have been used to move funds in ways that circumvent existing financial and banking controls imposed on Russia.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said the bloc is now “targeting more than 100 banks and crypto operators, over 40 vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet and several refineries in Russia and Belarus,” adding that more than 50 of the new listings are linked to Russia’s military‐industrial base and to the production of long‐range drones.
Tougher curbs on banks and financial channels
The financial measures introduce asset freezes and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to the 94 named Russian banks and major financial institutions. In a separate step, the Council extended its transaction ban to 33 additional Russian credit and financial organisations, blocking EU companies and individuals from doing business with them.
Four non‐Russian banks are also hit with transaction bans. One, identified by the Council as a bank in Kyrgyzstan, is described as being connected to Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), Moscow’s domestic alternative to the SWIFT network. Three other foreign banks are accused of assisting entities seeking to get around EU restrictions.
The Council has also broadened its action against alternative payment routes by adding four new designations linked to the A7 cross‐border payments network, including entities associated with its operations in Africa. EU officials have previously highlighted such third‐country payment systems as part of Russia’s efforts to preserve access to global finance after sanctions constrained its banking sector.
Clampdown on crypto platforms and new ‘country tool’
Under the new package, EU operators are barred from carrying out any transactions with the 14 listed crypto service platforms. The Council has not categorised all of these firms as Russian, instead focusing on service providers in foreign jurisdictions which, it says, have facilitated transfers connected to Russia.
Alongside these individual measures, the package introduces a new mechanism allowing the EU to impose a blanket prohibition on crypto‐asset services linked to an entire third country. The Council said this option could be used where a jurisdiction hosts crypto providers that enable Russia to evade EU sanctions.
Using this tool, the EU will be able to block transactions between EU‐based operators and crypto firms used by Russia to bypass restrictions. The Council presented this as a deterrent aimed at countries that allow sanctioned payment flows to continue via locally incorporated platforms.
These steps build on earlier sanctions. An official EU sanctions overview notes that existing measures already extend to Russia’s central bank, more than 100 Russian banks, specific categories of crypto transactions and services involving crypto wallets, accounts or custody.
Current rules also bar Russian nationals or residents from owning or controlling companies that provide crypto wallet, account or custody services in the EU. According to the Council, these controls are designed to reduce the use of crypto businesses as a back door around sanctions on conventional financial institutions.
Expanded action on ‘shadow fleet’ and oil trade
Beyond finance and crypto, the Council has added 41 more vessels to the EU’s “shadow fleet” list – ships suspected of helping to evade the G7/EU price cap on Russian oil – bringing the total covered by related restrictions to 673. The latest measures also apply to vessels that provide bunkering or other support services to ships alleged to be involved in breaching the oil price cap.
Eight entities and one individual linked to shadow‐fleet operations have been newly listed. For the first time, the Council has sanctioned a crewing agency it accuses of assisting this fleet, together with companies that EU authorities say operate on behalf of Russian oil producers.
Within the oil sector, the package targets 18 entities and one individual. The designations cover three Russian refineries, a large refinery in Belarus and a company established to sell Belarusian petroleum products inside Russia, according to the Council.
A Georgian refinery in Kulevi will be subject to a transaction ban after a six‐month wind‐down period, due to its role in processing and trading Russian oil. Five oil traders have also been placed under transaction bans for allegedly undermining limits on purchases of Russian crude and refined products.
As part of the same package, and against the backdrop of disruption caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Council has frozen the automatic adjustment mechanism for the Russian oil price cap until 15 July 2027. EU authorities will carry out an interim assessment to decide whether keeping this suspension in place remains “necessary and proportionate”.
Military and trade restrictions widened
On the military side, the EU has added 56 people and companies linked to Russia’s defence industry, including 37 listings associated with the production of long‐range drones and their supply chains.
The Council has also placed 51 entities under tighter export controls on dual‐use goods and advanced technology. These include firms based in China, India, Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the UAE which, EU officials say, are involved in supplying items that can bolster Russia’s military capabilities.
New trade measures cover materials and equipment used in aircraft, drones, missiles and corrosion‐resistant engine coatings. The package further restricts imports worth more than €60m annually, including specified ores, metals, glassware and vehicle parts which the Council has identified as sources of revenue for Russia.
Taken together, the latest actions underline the EU’s strategy of closing perceived loopholes in its existing sanctions architecture – particularly around crypto, alternative payment systems, shipping and third‐country intermediaries – rather than launching entirely new categories of restrictions.
