The Russian branch of the international human rights organization Transparency International found that, bypassing Western sanctions, Russians use the Tether stablecoin to send money to Western countries.

The organization found at least eight over-the-counter (OTC) brokers in Moscow who are able to sell tens of thousands of dollars in USDT stablecoins for cash, and then exchange them in the UK for pounds sterling, bypassing the “know your customer” (KYC) procedure, that is, anonymously.

This is contrary to current UK law and poses a money laundering risk, the organization’s experts say. It also shows that the British financial system is open to the use of criminals and corrupt officials who are trying to launder their ill-gotten gains.

“The full scale of such activities may not be known, but obviously they are not small and insignificant, deserving closer attention,” the organization said.

Transparency focused on the UK because the country has long been a favorite destination for Russians who sent money abroad. Here are the offices of some firms from the Russian Federation. Russian billionaires such as Roman Abramovich keep their savings here in large companies.

Almost all crypto exchanges willing to conduct such transactions stated that their London couriers speak Russian.

“This indirectly indicates that people from Russia and the countries of the former USSR could be involved in facilitating shadow over-the-counter crypto exchanges in London,” say representatives of the organization.

Previously, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance banned citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as any users in Russia, from buying and selling dollars and euros through a P2P service. The decision of Binance is connected with the tenth package of EU sanctions. EU citizens, in turn, will not be able to buy and sell rubles using P2P.