Japan Reportedly Urges Cryptoexchanges to Uphold Sanctions Against Russia, Belarus

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Japanese government urged domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to suspend transactions with Russian and Belarusian companies and individuals who are under Western sanctions due to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Kyodo reported.

According to the Japanese news agency, Seoul called for 30 cryptocurrency exchanges not to transfer their funds to 10 Russian companies and 44 citizens, including President Vladimir Putin, and to 15 Belarusian organizations and 19 individuals, including President Alexander Lukashenko. The call reportedly came amid growing fears in Western countries that Minsk and Moscow will try to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent the sanctions.

In addition, the Japanese authorities urged cryptocurrency exchanges to tighten control of crypto assets and to inform the government about any suspicious transactions involving sanctioned individuals and companies.

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway Donbass republics appealed for help in defending themselves against the Ukrainian military. In response, Western nations have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow. Last Friday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union intended to prevent Russia from using cryptocurrencies to circumvent the sanctions.