A 17-year-old British high school student investigated the ruble-pegged A7A5▲$0.0131 stablecoin and discovered it was being used for money laundering and sanctions evasion. In response, Russia imposed sanctions on the teenager.
Russia added 17-year-old British researcher Alexander Braude, founder of the Global Cryptocurrency Laundering Database, to its sanctions list. The teenager called the move a “badge of honor.”
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In March 2026, Braude published a report claiming that the ruble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin is backed by deposits from Russian Promsvyazbank and is used to evade Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
In addition to Braude, four other British nationals, including journalists from The Washington Post and The i Paper, were also sanctioned. All are now “banned from entering the Russian Federation.”
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What Is the A7A5 Stablecoin and Why Is It at the Center of the Scandal?
In his research, published through the Henry Jackson Society think tank, Braude alleged that Russia, Iran, and North Korea have used cryptocurrencies to launder $350B. The British government, according to data cited in the report, estimated transaction volume through the A7A5 network at $90B last year alone.
According to CertiK, more than $110B in on-chain transactions have passed through the stablecoin. EU authorities added A7A5 to their sanctions list in October 2025, stating that the asset is designed to circumvent financial restrictions on the Russian economy.
Read more: Why Crypto Regulation Became a Global Power Issue in 2026
A7A5 is a ruble-pegged digital asset. It was launched in January 2025 by Moldovan citizen Ilan Shor, who is under UK sanctions, in partnership with Russian Promsvyazbank, which is also under sanctions.
Reaction from Alexander Braude and His Father
Alexander Braude stated that his work had “struck a nerve” with the Russian government and called A7A5 Moscow’s “Achilles’ heel.“
“Without A7A5, they wouldn’t be able to fund their aggressive war,” he wrote.
The teenager urged Western countries to increase pressure on crypto exchanges that allow A7A5 to be converted into cash and on the nations that facilitate such exchanges.
Braude’s father is Sir Bill Browder, a well-known anti-corruption campaigner in Russia and the author of the Magnitsky Act. He himself has been under Russian sanctions since 2005. According to the elder Browder, his son is “the first high school student in the world to be sanctioned by an authoritarian regime.”
Russia Tightens Crypto Regulation
In April 2026, Russian lawmakers advanced a bill introducing criminal liability for unlicensed digital asset activities and requiring registration with the Central Bank. If passed, the law on digital currency and digital rights could ban illegal crypto platforms starting July 2027.
Learn more: China Crypto Regulation — Why Bitcoin Is Effectively Banned in the World’s Largest Market
