PANews reported on August 21st that the UK has imposed sanctions on the Kyrgyz financial sector and crypto networks linked to Russia, including a $9.3 billion ruble-backed stablecoin operation. Those sanctioned include Capital Bank of Central Asia and its director, Kantemir Chalbayev, as well as two Kyrgyz crypto exchanges, Grinex and Meer.

The UK accuses Russia of circumventing Western sanctions through these institutions and using the A7A5 stablecoin, which processed $9.3 billion in transactions over a four-month period. The UK sanctions list also includes entities such as Luxembourg-based Altair Holding and CJSC Tengricoin, as well as individuals associated with the network.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov objected to this, denying that his country's banks helped Russia circumvent sanctions and stressed that Kyrgyzstan would abide by international obligations while protecting its own economic interests.