U.K. Sanctions Cryptomus for RU Money Laundering
The U.K. sanctioned Cryptomus and related crypto platforms accused of laundering funds tied to Russian cybercrime.
On October 8, the United Kingdom sanctioned Cryptomus—formerly Certa Payments and Xeltox Enterprises, later rebranded Heleket—for processing payments that benefit the Russian government and its financial institutions. The measures freeze U.K.-held assets and bar British companies from doing business with it; VexPay, TokenSpot, and Tsunami Payments were also designated. Chainalysis said Cryptomus and Heleket received more illicit funds than tracked mixers, with illicit counterparties exceeding 900 in one late-2025 month. TRM Labs reported more than $7 billion processed since 2022, and Canada’s earlier CAD $176 million AML fine did not stop no-KYC processing via Heleket.
- U.K. asset freeze and business ban target Cryptomus and Heleket.
- VexPay, TokenSpot, and Tsunami Payments were also sanctioned.
- Chainalysis cites over 900 illicit counterparties in one month.
- TRM Labs reported more than $7 billion processed since 2022.
- Canada’s CAD $176 million fine did not stop processing.
- Products
- VexPayTokenSpotTsunami Payments
- Countries
- United KingdomRussiaCanada
Indicators of compromise
auto-extracted · verify before use · export allAll| Type | Indicator | Context |
|---|---|---|
| domain | certa.website | ign exchange brokers. One of Certa Payments’ former sites — certa[.]website — also shared a server with 12 other domains, including r |
| domain | rasd-state.ws | ite — also shared a server with 12 other domains, including rasd-state[.]ws, a website for the Central Reserve Authority of the Weste |
From the original article
3 min read at krebsonsecurity.com
The United Kingdom has issued economic sanctions against Cryptomus, a chameleonic cryptocurrency platform that experts say serves as a major conduit for payments related to ransomware, narcotics, darknet markets, fraud and cybercrime services that are helping Russia circumvent existing financial restrictions.
By BrianKrebs · krebsonsecurity.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.