Sanctioned Russian stablecoin A7A5 surprisingly set up a massage area at Token 2049 in Singapore, sparking controversy.

As the global Crypto Assets community focuses on the Token 2049 conference in Singapore, a ruble stablecoin issuer A7A5, linked to a Russian bank under international sanctions, brazenly appeared at the venue, even setting up a massage relaxation area as an official sponsor, raising widespread concerns and compliance issues.

Sanctioned Russian sponsors make their appearance, raising questions.

The ruble stablecoin issued by A7A5 is supported by Old Vector and is used for the A7 LLC payment platform, relying on the Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank (PSB) as the reserve bank. This bank has been included in the sanction lists of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore for financing Russia's defense industry. Especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Singapore has rarely broken its neutrality policy and joined the West in imposing sanctions on Russia's financial system.

According to the SNR-N01 notice issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on March 14, 2023, local financial and encryption institutions in Singapore are explicitly prohibited from interacting with major Russian banks and related digital asset providers, including PSB. This regulation should theoretically also cover A7A5.

However, A7A5 not only made a grand appearance at this Token2049, but also took the stage to give a speech, forming a stark contrast with the appearance of former White House crypto policy director Bo Hines. Bo Hines praised his new employer Tether and its US compliance stablecoin USAT (Genius-act compliant stablecoin ) as a "manifestation of the global desire for dollar hegemony." A few hours later, A7A5’s Director of Overseas Affairs Oleg Ogienko took the stage to promote the ruble stablecoin in opposition to the dollar, sparking heated discussions among attendees. A7A5 even posted on X, encouraging everyone to relax at the massage area of TOKEN 2049.

Why can sanctioned companies participate in the exhibition legally?

The key to a transparent and open exhibition lies in the identification of the event organizer. Token2049 is not organized by a Singapore government entity, but by BOB Group, which is registered in Hong Kong. Although the event takes place in Singapore, BOB Group is only required to comply with Hong Kong regulations in terms of legal responsibility.

As a part of China, Hong Kong has not followed the Western stance on the issue of Russian sanctions and continues to maintain normal trade and financial exchanges with Russia. Therefore, BOB Group has not violated the laws of its jurisdiction, allowing A7A5 to take advantage of this to participate in activities with legal identification.

According to reports, BOB Group has not responded to multiple media requests for comments; the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has also not responded to the incident as of the time of publication.

Compliance chaos has triggered internal anxiety within the industry.

This incident has caused great unrest within the crypto industry. According to a report by CoinDesk, an anonymous executive from a crypto company candidly stated that seeing A7A5 appear on the sponsor list was "like having a heart attack," describing it as a "compliance nightmare." Other companies are concerned that being exposed alongside sanctioned entities could indirectly expose them to legal and brand reputation risks.

In the face of pressure, BOB Group eventually quietly removed A7A5 from the list of sponsors on the conference website, but web snapshots and social media records still preserve the fact of its sponsorship. A7A5 also proudly showcased its sponsorship status on its community platform, emphasizing that it had established a dedicated massage relaxation area, with the slogan: "Relax your body and mind, facilitate transactions."

Regulatory gaps expose sanction loopholes

This incident reveals the gray areas of the international sanctions regime across multiple jurisdictions. Although Singapore takes a tough stance against Russian financial entities, event organizers may circumvent relevant restrictions if they are not subject to local regulation. This situation allows sanctioned companies to still find opportunities to enter important global financial and technology platforms, continuing to advance their international narrative and economic activities.

This case not only highlights Singapore's challenges in global encryption regulation but also exposes the vulnerability of international cooperation mechanisms when legal responsibilities are disconnected from geographical locations during the enforcement of financial sanctions.

This article about the sanctioned Russian stablecoin A7A5 surprisingly set up a massage area at Token 2049 in Singapore, igniting controversy. It first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.