The United Kingdom has imposed economic sanctions on Cryptomus, a cryptocurrency payment processor that has repeatedly changed names and now operates as Heleket. The action, announced October 8, freezes any U.K.-held assets and bars British firms from doing business with the platform. VexPay, TokenSpot, and Tsunami Payments were also sanctioned.
Cryptomus has been a key payment channel for Russian cryptocurrency exchanges and cybercrime services, according to blockchain analysts. Chainalysis said Cryptomus and Heleket together received more illicit funds than the mixers in its dataset, with illicit counterparties exceeding 900 in a single month in late 2025. TRM Labs estimated the platform processed over $7 billion since 2022, including transactions linked to child sexual abuse material, terrorist financing, and human trafficking.
The sanctions follow a record CAD $176 million fine from Canada, which investigator Richard Sanders said was unenforceable. Cryptomus appealed, launched Heleket as a parallel no-KYC service, and kept processing transactions. Sanders called the U.K. action the first known instance of a Five Eyes country sanctioning a crypto operation incorporated in another Five Eyes jurisdiction. The source also notes the platform's licensing appears tied to a disputed regulatory body in Western Sahara.