British schoolboy Alexander Browder helped uncover a scheme through which, according to Western authorities, Russia circumvented sanctions using cryptocurrency platforms. After this, Moscow added the teenager to its sanctions list, and Georgia came under pressure from London and Brussels because of companies registered on its territory.
The story quickly turned into a crypto detective with several plotlines at once. The European Union is preparing a new package of measures against Russia, the United Kingdom has already hit financial platforms linked to the Russian A7 network, and Georgian authorities are trying to prove to partners that they themselves identified suspicious operations and did not turn a blind eye to shadow schemes.
Against this backdrop, another campaign unfolded inside Georgia: law enforcement began fighting illegal mining in Svaneti, where free electricity had fueled crypto farms for years. Local residents even promised to give up cryptocurrency mining in front of icons, but the problem did not disappear.
London and Brussels Step Up Pressure on Georgian Crypto Platforms
The European Union plans to include Georgian cryptocurrency platforms in the 21st package of sanctions against Russia in the near future. According to the Financial Times, Brussels suspects several companies registered in Georgia of helping Moscow circumvent restrictions.
Sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have long affected not only banks, industry, and export chains. Western regulators are paying increasing attention to cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and payment intermediaries that can replace traditional financial channels.
At the end of May, the UK government imposed restrictions on crypto platforms linked to the Russian A7 payment network. The Foreign Office believes this network was used to support Russia’s military economy.
Just last year, more than $90 billion passed through this system. This is comparable to half of Russia’s annual military spending.
Eighteen entities fell under British sanctions. Among them were:
- crypto platforms;
- banks;
- financial networks in Russia;
- financial networks in the United Kingdom;
- financial networks in Georgia;
- financial networks in Kyrgyzstan;
- financial networks in the UAE;
- financial networks in Panama;
- financial networks in El Salvador.
London described these entities as shadow financial systems that helped circumvent anti-Russian restrictions. The assets of these companies are frozen, and British organizations are prohibited from doing business with them.
Among those sanctioned were three companies from Georgia: Arvix LLC, Rapira Group LLC, and Aifory LLC. The UK government statement specifically emphasized that these entities managed exchanges targeting the Russian market and attempted to undermine the effect of sanctions.
In the broader sanctions context, such decisions echo the practice in the US, where personal and financial restrictions are administered by OFAC. That is why cryptocurrency schemes are increasingly seen not as a technical niche but as part of the global fight against sanctions evasion.
What Is a Sanctions List and What Are the Risks
A sanctions list is an official register of individuals, companies, organizations, or government entities subject to restrictions. Such lists are used to pressure those whom authorities or international organizations associate with violating sanctions regimes, security threats, human rights abuses, or circumventing existing bans.
There are different types of lists:
- personal — against specific individuals;
- sectoral — against particular sectors of the economy;
- commodity — with bans or restrictions on the supply of certain goods;
- financial — with restrictions on payments, accounts, assets, and transactions.
Being included in such a list usually means severe practical consequences:
- freezing of assets and blocking of accounts;
- ban on transactions and doing business with a listed person or company;
- restrictions on entry and movement;
- reputational risks for partners, banks, and clients.
Where to Find Current Sanctions Lists
It is more reliable to check sanctions at primary sources, as lists are updated with new decisions: sometimes on schedule, sometimes unexpectedly. Main checkpoints:
- US Treasury OFAC — US sanctions lists;
- official EU resources — consolidated lists and Council of the EU decisions;
- UN Security Council — consolidated UN sanctions list;
- UK government — UK Sanctions List;
- Russian Ministry of Finance — Russian restriction lists.
If you need to know which countries are currently under sanctions, start with the same official lists: US, EU, UN, UK, and the Russian Ministry of Finance.
A basic check of a counterparty or product usually looks like this:
- determine the jurisdictions involved in the transaction, bank, counterparty, owners, and supply route;
- check the company name, names of directors, owners, and beneficiaries in Russian and English, as well as possible spelling variations;
- verify registration numbers, addresses, websites, wallets, and related companies if they are in the transaction documents;
- for goods, check the code, country of origin, end recipient, and export or import restrictions;
- save the results of the check and repeat it before payment or delivery, as lists can be updated at any time.
In addition to official sites, banks’ online tools, compliance services, and search databases are used for initial screening. But the final decision is best checked against the official list of the jurisdiction relevant to the transaction.
How Alexander Browder Ended Up at the Center of a Cryptocurrency Scandal
Seventeen-year-old Alexander Browder played a significant role in uncovering the Russian shadow crypto network. He is the son of British financier William Browder, known as one of the main initiators of the Magnitsky Act, adopted in the US in 2012. This law provides for visa and financial restrictions against Russian officials linked to human rights violations.
Back in March, Alexander Browder prepared a report for the Henry Jackson Society think tank. In it, he described schemes for moving and legalizing money through cryptocurrencies and specifically pointed to the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5. In his assessment, this tool became one of the most serious problems for the West in combating money laundering under sanctions regimes.
Browder claimed that through such mechanisms, Russia, Iran, and North Korea could have laundered about $350 billion. When it became known that the UK government had consulted with him, Moscow responded with an entry ban.
On June 2, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Alexander Browder and four other British citizens were banned from entering the country. The wording was typical for Russian diplomacy: slanderous fabrications, false information, and attempts to harm Russia’s international image.
The teenager himself reacted without visible concern. On X, he wrote that he was proud to be the first schoolboy in the world to be included in sanctions lists by an authoritarian regime for exposing corruption. He also said he had found the Achilles’ heel of the scheme: without A7A5, according to him, Russia would not have been able to finance an aggressive war on the same scale.
What Is Known About the Georgian Companies on the Sanctions List
Key facts about the three Georgian companies are as follows:
- Rapira Group LLC: registered in Georgia in November 2022; owner and liquidator — UK citizen Ilya Akhaev; had an office in Moscow and worked with the Russian crypto market; engaged in converting rubles to cryptocurrency; currently in the process of liquidation. According to Elliptic, Rapira conducted direct transactions of more than $72 million with Grinex, and at the end of 2025, Russian law enforcement searched its Moscow office in a case of alleged capital outflow.
- Aifory LLC: registered in Georgia in June 2023; director and sole owner — Georgian citizen Mikhail Gevorkyan; operated in Moscow, Dubai, and Turkey; offered cash-for-crypto exchanges and virtual cards linked to USDT. Reports say Aifory participated in intermediary payments between Russia and other countries, with some transactions linked to Iranian crypto exchanges.
- Arvix LLC: registered in Georgia in October 2023; director and sole owner — Georgian citizen Tamaz Garaev; British authorities believe the company was part of a network that tried to weaken financial restrictions against Russia.
Tbilisi Responded Quickly, but Questions Remain
The day after the announcement of British sanctions, Georgian authorities made it clear that the situation was not unexpected for them. The investigative service of the Georgian Ministry of Finance stated that Aifory, Arvix, and Rapira Group were already under investigation.
According to the agency, Aifory and Arvix were registered to front persons for money. They had no offices or property in Georgia. Rapira Group, according to investigators, was registered by a UK citizen by proxy. No financial operations were recorded on its accounts, and it also had no offices or assets in Georgia.
The authorities separately stated that Rapira served only Russian citizens via a website with a Russian registrar. The Ministry of Finance also reported that as early as April 28, 2026, a month before the British sanctions, the court had already ruled on a related case.
Two company executives were fined 30,000 lari, which is about $10,000. The investigation named David Jincharadze as the organizer of the fraudulent scheme. He was sentenced to 9.5 years of actual imprisonment.
The Georgian Ministry of Finance emphasized that it continues to work with international partners on sanctions circumvention cases. The agency also insists that suspicious transactions were identified by the National Bank of Georgia, and the British side was notified.
The opposition, however, demanded explanations. The main question was simple: why did the public not learn about the investigation earlier if the case was so important? Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, when asked directly about the National Bank’s communication with London, gave an evasive answer and admitted he did not know exactly how the information was transmitted.
Operation Against AudiA6 Crypto Mixer
At the same time, Georgian law enforcement reported participation in a major international operation against a network that had laundered illegally obtained money through cryptocurrencies since 2022. The volume of laundered assets is estimated at several hundred million dollars.
The case centered on the AudiA6 platform. This is a crypto mixer: a service that, for a high fee, helps to obscure the traces of suspicious cryptocurrency transactions.
It is believed that in April 2026, $9.5 million stolen from more than 50 users through a fake Ledger Live app was laundered through AudiA6.
Ledger Live is used to manage virtual wallets. Fraudsters managed to place a fake version of the app in the official Apple store, bypassing verification.
The same criminal group ran the Dark2Web forum, where cybercriminals from different countries offered their services. The operation was coordinated by European Union agencies Europol and Eurojust.
The operation involved:
- Georgian Ministry of Finance investigative service;
- US Secret Service;
- Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime of Poland;
- prosecutor’s office of the city of Lodz.
About 100 investigators and operatives conducted searches at dozens of addresses in Georgia: in residential buildings, offices, and cars. Two foreigners were detained in Adjara. Their citizenship is not disclosed. Electronic media and documents were seized.
The investigation also seized property of suspected scheme participants: 173 cars, expensive real estate, and funds in bank accounts. According to law enforcement, these assets were purchased to launder criminal proceeds.
Why Svaneti Became a Separate Crypto Problem
The cryptocurrency market in Georgia is developing amid very liberal rules. Income from the sale of cryptocurrency is not taxed, and operations with digital assets are legal. Large-scale industrial mining operates both on private farms and in free industrial zones.
The main mining hubs are located in Gldani, a district of Tbilisi, and in Kutaisi. Residents of free industrial zones enjoy a special tax regime: for permitted activities within the zone, there is exemption from profit tax, VAT, property tax, and import duties. The Tbilisi Free Industrial Zone specifically lists VAT-free electricity among its advantages.
The Gldani crypto hub grew around the Bitfury project. In 2015, the company received 18 hectares of land in Gldani at a symbolic price. The area was granted free industrial zone status, and in 2016, a 40-megawatt data center was built there.
In Georgian political debate, the Bitfury project is associated with the entourage of Bidzina Ivanishvili, whom opponents call the country’s shadow ruler. It is known that the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, founded by Ivanishvili, issued Bitfury a $10 million loan in 2014 for the first data center in Gori. Later, Forbes Georgia wrote that the fund does not own shares in any Bitfury data center.
Against this backdrop, the authorities decided for the first time in many years to seriously address mining in Svaneti. This small and very picturesque highland region has enjoyed a benefit for more than 20 years: residents officially do not pay for electricity.
The reasons for this practice are varied. These include the poverty of mountain areas and the authorities’ reluctance to clash with locals over installing meters. Initially, the benefit was expected to help develop tourism. But free electricity quickly found a more profitable use.
It is believed that today about 10,000 devices are mining cryptocurrency in Svaneti. Thanks to liberal legislation, Georgia ranks first in the South Caucasus and is among the world’s top ten countries where it is easiest to access mining. But in Svaneti, this model has hurt both tourism and the power system.
According to experts, under normal load, the region should consume 7–10 million kWh per year. Actual figures are several times higher.
According to Energo-Pro Georgia, in 2020 the municipality consumed 91.1 million kWh of electricity, and in 2025 already 132.9 million kWh.
Local grids cannot withstand such a load. Therefore, power outages in the Svaneti mountains have long been a common problem.
Four years ago, when the situation became critical, an unusual event took place in Mestia. Hundreds of Svans came to the Church of St. George and, by community custom, swore on an icon that they would turn off miners. In the past, such a ritual could stop even a blood feud. But it did not work with cryptocurrency: mining in Svaneti continued.
Recently, the Georgian Dream government announced that Svan miners cause annual damage to the energy system of 20–25 million lari, or about $8 million. After this, the authorities declared war on mining, and police special forces went to Mestia to seize equipment.
The opposition did not believe in the authorities’ sudden principled stance and demanded to name the patrons of Svan crypto farms. Critics consider the raids ineffective, recall miners in other regions, and see the campaign not as a systemic reform but as a possible reflection of clan struggles within Georgian Dream.
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