{"id":1207798,"date":"2025-08-25T19:51:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/?p=1207798"},"modified":"2025-08-25T19:51:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:51:04","slug":"sanctions-vs-russia-s-hidden-operations-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/sanctions-vs-russia-s-hidden-operations-in-the-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanctions vs. Russia\u2019s Hidden Operations in the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the West targets Russian banks, Russia\u2019s covert crypto-based logistics are flourishing in Dubai and Ankara \u2013 but can sanctions really halt this flow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Western efforts focus on major Russian banks and oil shipments, the backbone of Russia\u2019s shadow trade has quietly moved into the digital realm. Its central hub is increasingly in the Middle East. A large share of Russia\u2019s gray-market logistics\u2014including the acquisition of dual-use goods, cryptocurrency transactions, and offshore profit strategies for Russian firms\u2014runs through the United Arab Emirates, T\u00fcrkiye, Iran, and, to a lesser extent, Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about this in the\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Bohdan Popov<\/strong>, Head of Digital at the United Ukraine Think Tank, communications specialist and public figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, the author explains that Russian IT firms establishing offices in Dubai, Ankara, or Bahrain are increasingly functioning less as software developers and more as \u201clogistics intermediaries\u201d for export operations. They provide fictitious B2B services, act as payment channels for crypto transactions, and sometimes digitally obscure actual trade flows. Through these networks, Russia repackages sanctioned goods\u2014such as chips, drones, and control platforms\u2014and pays for them using cryptocurrency, mixed payment systems, or offshore wallets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cServicing\u201d companies play a key role in this system. Fintech startups registered in Dubai, for example, leverage APIs from European or Asian payment systems to convert Russian funds into USDT or Dirham, bypassing SWIFT. These firms often present themselves as legal-tech, EdTech, or cybersecurity companies, but their real function is supporting the gray-market logistics of Russian exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, Popov emphasizes that following the partial collapse of Russia\u2019s oil and gas monopolies between 2022 and 2024, Moscow heavily invested in developing an alternative financial system\u2014crypto-based logistics. This system relies on a vast network of exchanges, mining pools, P2P wallets, and proxy accounts operating in friendly or neutral jurisdictions. By 2023, as much as 82% of transactions by Russian sanctioned companies flowed through crypto exchanges such as Garantex. After Garantex faced partial U.S. restrictions in 2022\u20132023, the Kremlin shifted operations to other platforms\u2014some in Iran, some in the UAE, and others in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Russia launched A7A5, its shadow central bank digital currency (CBDC). Unlike conventional CBDCs, A7A5 was designed not for a regulated financial market but as a tool to circumvent sanctions and conceal international economic activity. Built on a modified Hyperledger Fabric blockchain with integrated GOST encryption, the system effectively obscures transactions from global blockchain monitoring tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the expert summarizes that Russia\u2019s shadow crypto infrastructure is far from a peripheral tool for evading sanctions; it serves as a critical lifeline for gray-market exports and payments for illicit goods. Through this network, Russia sustains access to chips, drones, telecom equipment, and even laser optics. Disrupting this system\u2014not only through SWIFT restrictions or oil sanctions but by targeting digital operations in T\u00fcrkiye, the UAE, and India\u2014would strike at the very core of Russia\u2019s export machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanctions against fintech entities operating in gray zones remain an underused instrument. Applied effectively, they could not only shut down crypto exchanges but also dismantle the foundation of Russia\u2019s military-trade networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full article by\u00a0Bohdan Popov<\/strong>\u00a0on The Gaze:<\/strong> Sanctions vs. Russia\u2019s Shadow Schemes in the Middle East<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also:<\/strong> $120 Billion for Ukraine\u2019s Victory: Why 2026 Defense Spending Is an Investment in Global Security<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the West targets Russian banks, Russia\u2019s covert crypto-based logistics are flourishing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":1207801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[76,78],"sources":[],"class_list":["post-1207798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publications-en","tag-glavnoe-en","tag-homepage-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSanctions vs. Russia\u2019s Hidden Operations in the Middle East - Freedom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/sanctions-vs-russia-s-hidden-operations-in-the-middle-east\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sanctions vs. Russia\u2019s Hidden Operations in the Middle East - 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