On Monday, Japanese authorities issued an order asking crypto exchange platforms in the country to not process transactions that relate to “asset-freeze” sanctions currently held against Russia and Ukraine.
The new development comes amid quite an avalanche of sanctions and other actions that have rained on Ukraine these recent weeks following its attack on Ukraine.
The Monday declaration by Japanese authorities comes after a Friday statement from the Group of Seven (G7) that said that Western nations “will impose costs on illicit Russian actors using digital assets to enhance and transfer their wealth.” The G7 is greatly concerned that cryptocurrencies are being used by some Russian big wigs to escape financial sanctions that are being imposed on them. There have been concerns about cryptocurrency from various governments, as it can be used to fuel terrorism and launder money. Last week, the Biden administration signed an executive order stating how cryptocurrency should run in the state as well as requiring crypto firms not to help fuel transactions that has to do with those on its sanctions list. Other countries, such as China, have completely banned cryptocurrencies.
On Monday, a senior officer at Japan’s Financial Services Agency said that “We decided to make an announcement to keep the G7 momentum alive. The sooner the better.”
In a joint statement from Japan’s Ministry of Finance and its Financial Services Agency, the government wants to tighten measures it is taking against the movement of crypto assets that could violate existing sanctions. Japan is quite behind, compared to other countries when it comes to the regulation of cryptocurrencies.
On Monday the Financial Services Agency also mentioned that unauthorized payments to targets under sanctions including through crypto-assets are subject to punishment of up to three years in prison or a million yen fine.
