Japan’s Financial Services Agency and Ministry of Finance jointly announced penalties on crypto exchanges that do not comply with sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, following G7 vows to tighten crypto sanctions.
See related article: Russians turn to crypto as Western sanctions hit the ruble
Fast facts
- Cryptocurrency exchanges that make any unauthorized payments including cryptocurrencies to sanctioned targets could face up to three years in prison or a fine of 1 million yen ($8,487.52).
- Cryptocurrency exchanges are required to report to the FSA if they find suspected transfers from sanctioned targets.
- The action comes after the G7 moved to close a loophole for cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions.
- In March, South Korean crypto exchanges blocked Russian account addresses.
- However, major crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken will not remove all Russian addresses, and Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com added Russian to its list of supported languages on March 3.
See related article: Russia faces crypto freeze as exchanges toe line on sanctions