European Union: Extended scope of sanctions against Russia and Belarus to include crypto assets

On 9 March 2022, the European Commission announced that the sanctions adopted against Russia and Belarus in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine involve any type of “transferable securities", including crypto assets. Therefore, the restrictions on loan and credit operations adopted against Russia and Belarus affect crypto assets. In particular, the designated persons include the Russian Government, the Russian Central Bank, the entities possessed by them, the Russian National Wealth Fund and a variety of individuals connected to the Russian Government, as well as several Belarusian banks.