The UK is stepping up efforts to disrupt Russian networks accused of circumventing western sanctions, as Chancellor John Healey seeks to increase pressure on Vladimir Putin and prevent Moscow from regaining access to the international financial system.
Healey used his first international meetings to build a coalition of allies focused on targeting covert Russian networks that help finance the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, the government said on Monday.
The National Crime Agency and the government have issued the first nationwide alert against the so-called A7 network, warning businesses to strengthen their defences against attempts to evade sanctions.
The alert is intended to help the private sector identify and disrupt networks that use third-country financial institutions to complete cross-border transactions and bypass restrictions imposed on Russia.
The A7 network relies on financial institutions outside Russia and the illicit use of international payment infrastructure to move funds and goods across borders, according to the government.
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The UK has maintained one of the most extensive sanctions regimes against Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, targeting individuals, companies, banks and vessels linked to the Kremlin.
More than 500 individuals, entities and ships have been sanctioned by Britain under its Russia sanctions regime in 2026 alone.
The government is also preparing to strengthen the financial penalties for sanctions violations. The maximum fine available to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will be doubled from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the value of a breach.
The move follows a sanctions package announced in August targeting Russian banks, vessels associated with the country’s so-called shadow fleet and companies supporting the Kremlin.
Healey said the government would intensify efforts to identify the financial networks helping Russia sustain its military campaign.
We are ramping up the economic pressure on Putin and leaving those aiding his illegal war with nowhere to hide,” Healey said.
The UK and our allies must step up our international cooperation to expose sanctions evasion, and disrupt the financial networks fuelling Russia’s aggression.
“Our commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people is unshakeable. We will bear down on those propping up Putin’s war as we push to secure a just and lasting peace.
The latest measures come amid increasingly hostile rhetoric between Moscow and London.
Russia’s embassy in London accused Britain in August of becoming “an accomplice and co-perpetrator” of attacks and of “deliberately opting for an escalation” in the conflict.
The Ministry of Defence rejected the accusation and reiterated the UK’s commitment to supporting Kyiv.
Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and we are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion,” the ministry said.
“Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this Government to stand against Russian aggression, in Ukraine and against the UK and our allies.”
The focus on sanctions evasion reflects a broader shift in western policy towards Russia, from imposing restrictions on prominent individuals and companies to targeting the infrastructure used to circumvent those measures.
For the UK, the effectiveness of the regime increasingly depends on co-operation with financial institutions and international partners, particularly in jurisdictions that can provide alternative routes for Russian capital and trade.
By increasing the maximum financial penalty and issuing a nationwide alert, ministers are seeking to make sanctions evasion more costly for companies and financial intermediaries while closing the channels through which Moscow can access international markets.
The government’s challenge will be to maintain pressure on Russia without allowing increasingly sophisticated sanctions-evasion networks to recreate the financial connections that western governments have spent years dismantling.
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