HTX refutes accusations tied to U.K. sanctions, noting it rejected the listing of a ruble-linked stablecoin.

U.K. authorities have sanctioned crypto exchange HTX, citing “reasonable grounds to suspect” the platform may have supported Russia through alleged links to the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5.

HTX has denied the allegations, stating it had no involvement in facilitating Russia’s “illicit financial infrastructure” tied to funding flows and the war in Ukraine. The exchange said it rejected A7A5’s request for a listing after conducting internal compliance checks.

“A7A5 applied to list its stablecoin on our platform, but the request was declined following a thorough due diligence and compliance review,” an HTX spokesperson told CoinDesk.

The stablecoin is issued by A7 LLC, an entity already under sanctions from several Western governments.

In its sanctions notice released Tuesday, the U.K. Foreign Office did not detail specific evidence of cooperation between HTX and A7A5. Instead, it said HTX was suspected of assisting A7, which it described as operating in a sector of strategic importance to the Russian government.

According to A7A5 executive Oleg Ogienko, the firm had approached multiple centralized exchanges, including HTX, in an attempt to secure listings.

“We contacted major centralized exchanges months ago, but they rejected our applications almost immediately due to fears of secondary sanctions,” Ogienko said.

He added that A7A5 has since pivoted away from centralized exchanges, relying instead on decentralized finance infrastructure.

“Our model no longer depends on exchange listings,” Ogienko said, while noting the firm remains open to partnerships with trading platforms seeking to expand volume and attract users.

Ogienko also said A7A5 complies with regulations in Kyrgyzstan and Russia, as well as standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which focuses on combating money laundering and illicit financing globally.