The European Commission has announced a task force to track how crypto-assets are used to dodge sanctions, with Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services and Savings, unveiling the move on Thursday 5 November. Its initial mandate is expected to last twelve months.
Working group takes shape
“The EU has set up the EU working group on crypto-asset sanctions, an important step to prevent crypto-assets from being used to circumvent our financial sanctions,” Albuquerque said in a LinkedIn post on Friday 6 November. The group brings together national and EU experts to design measures that close gaps opened by crypto-assets, and will draw on expertise from Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
A new sanctions enforcement office will coordinate the work of the bloc’s 27 member states, the Commission said, offering faster guidance and improved data sharing between capitals. Albuquerque said the effort aims to “present a more united front on the global stage.”
A week of coordination
On the same Thursday, Albuquerque hosted the tenth meeting of the high-level group on restrictive measures, where OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud office, presented its work on sanctions circumvention. Separately, David O’Sullivan convened the eighth Coordinators Forum, which brought together twelve allied countries.
The Commission pointed to figures on Russia’s economy to frame the stakes: growth fell from 4.9 percent a year earlier to 1 percent in 2025, with near stagnation expected in 2026 and 2027. Washington has already acted against one crypto platform, cutting MEXC off from the US financial system over illicit flows put at $16 billion. North Korea alone is estimated to have stolen $9.6 billion in crypto-assets since 2019.
The EU has adopted 21 sanctions packages, the most recent on 23 July.
Related: Netanyahu floats crypto to dodge sanctions, central bank pushes back
Source: European Commission
