An IT consultant is charged with breaching British sanctions after sending bitcoin to pro-Putin separatists.

A Russian-British dual national named Mikhail Vlasov has been charged in the UK with eight counts of breaching British sanctions by:

• Sending cryptocurrency to pro-Russian separatist militias in eastern Ukraine.

Mikhail Vlasov, a software developer, moved to the UK in 2013 and was granted citizenship in 2019. He was arrested in 2023 and was on bail for two years before being charged. A High Court trial has been scheduled for 2027.

Key Details:

• Who: Mikhail Vlasov, 53, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
• What: He allegedly sent around £4,000 worth of cryptocurrency (likely Bitcoin) between April 2022 and April 2023.
• Why: The funds were reportedly used to purchase military equipment—including drones, ammunition, weapons, and uniforms—for militias in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, which are self-proclaimed, pro-Russian separatist states.
• Legal Context: These actions are considered a deliberate circumvention of UK sanctions, which were imposed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• Next Steps: Vlasov has been granted bail and is expected to appear in court again later this month.

This is only the second known case in the UK involving charges for breaching sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

• In April, an associate of President Putin was the first person to be sentenced for breaches of Russian-linked financial sanctions in Britain.
• Dmitrii Ovsyannikov, 48, was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of eight counts of breaching financial sanctions and two counts of money laundering and sentenced to 40 months.

Read more

• An IT consultant has denied sending cryptocurrency to separatist militias fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine to buy weapons and military equipment.
• Mikhail Vlasov, 53, from Rotherhithe, southeast London, is charged with:
• Breaching British sanctions imposed on what prosecutors described as “self-proclaimed, pro-Russian separatist states” in Ukraine.

• Vlasov is accused of sending cryptocurrency to pro-Russian organisations for:
• “military equipment for militia groups operating in the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic”.
• The organisations to which Vlasov sent money to the following recipients:
• KCPN (Novorossiya aid co-ordination centre);
• Terrikon Project;
• Ghost of Novorossiya;
• The Katya & Valya Sisters;
• Troika;
• Moo Veche;
• Signalman Kiba; and
• Colonel Cassad.
• Lyndon Harris, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court:
• That the purpose of the 32 payments was to support the militias with supplies and equipment; and
• It was clear on their recipients' websites that funds received would be used to pay for “drones, ammunition, weapons [and] uniforms”.
• Vlasov pleaded NOT GUILTY to eight charges of breaching sanctions, which relate to bitcoin payments totalling almost £4,000 between April 2022 and April 2023.

References

[1] UK man in court charged with sending crypto to Russian separatists - https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/cryptocurrency/BITCOIN-BTC-USD-45553945/news/UK-man-in-court-charged-with-sending-crypto-to-Russian-separatists-50388246/