Euronews: Russia sanctions a British teenager after his open-source research exposed a Moscow-linked crypto laundering network used to evade sanctions and move war-related illicit funds

His research focused on complex crypto flows and digital asset structures suspected of being used to obscure the movement of illicit funds across borders and evade sanctions controls. Russian authorities responded by placing him on a sanctions list, effectively restricting his ability to engage with or travel to Russia and signalling a rare instance of direct retaliation against an individual researcher. The case highlights how open-source intelligence (OSINT) and independent investigations are increasingly uncovering sophisticated sanctions evasion typologies in the crypto ecosystem…