LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) – The European Commission is investigating whether crypto-assets are being used to circumvent financial sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, a senior European Union official said on Wednesday. .
Ruble trading volumes against the cryptocurrency Tether surged on Monday as the Russian currency fell to an all-time low after sanctions decided over the weekend by the EU and other Western countries.
The Binance crypto-asset trading platform has also announced that it has blocked the accounts of all its Russian customers targeted by these sanctions.
A senior EU official said European authorities are aware of the risk that cryptoassets are “a possible way around” sanctions.
The Commission has taken note of the press publications on the subject but it has also received certain information directly, he added.
“The increase in the value of some of these assets could be the consequence of attempts to circumvent the sanctions. We are studying the question but no decision has been taken,” added this European official.
(Reportage Huw Jones, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Blandine Hénault)