Britain has expanded its sanctions enforcement focus from named entities to the payment routes used by Russia-linked networks. On Aug. 31, the National Crime Agency issued its first nationwide industry alert on the A7 network, urging banks, payment providers and crypto firms to scrutinize counterparties, intermediary wallets and cross-border infrastructure connected to Russia-related transactions. A7 says it processed more than $86 billion in its first year, although the figure is self-reported and does not measure verified illicit flows. The alert identifies transaction hashes, decentralized exchanges, mixers, over-the-counter and peer-to-peer services, weak know-your-customer controls, chain-hopping, VPN use and frequent infrastructure changes as potential risk indicators. UK authorities have also linked the network to the movement of crypto liquidity from Garantex to Kyrgyzstan-registered Grinex through A7A5, a ruble-backed token. Grinex recorded more than $1.2 billion in incoming and outgoing USDT volume by May 2025. Separately, the government has proposed raising the maximum civil penalty to the greater of £2 million or 100% of a breach's value, from £1 million or 50%. The change requires legislation, has no effective date and would preserve OFSI's discretion to impose lower penalties.