Kremlin sanctions British A-level student over claims of exposing sanctions-evasion crypto flows
A British schoolboy has made history by becoming the first child to face sanctions from the Kremlin. Sixth form pupil Alexander Browder has compiled a database of illicit cryptocurrency transactions, including Russian deals designed to circumvent Western sanctions.
The 17-year-old’s research has resulted in a travel ban to Russia after he exposed Russian money laundering operations. His database has garnered international attention since its debut at the Houses of Parliament in spring.
On Tuesday (June 2), Russia’s foreign ministry imposed "personal sanctions" against Alexander. In a statement, the foreign ministry said Alexander was prohibited from entering Russia due to his "involvement in circulating defamatory speculations and false information about the policy of the Russian authorities".
Alexander told The Telegraph: "I am not bothered at all. In fact I am going to be wearing it [the sanction] as a badge of honour.
"It shows me that I touched a nerve - I am looking in the right places. Russia can add my name to whatever list they want - it won’t change the facts, it won’t change my work and the pressure that we need to put them under."
The teenager argued that cryptocurrency had provided Putin with "a financial lifeline" and that "the only way we can stop that is to cut off Russia’s crypto supply", reports the Mirror. Alexander’s father Bill Browder stated: "This is the first time in history that Russia has sanctioned a high school student.
"My son is 17 and studying for his A-levels. Putin’s skin is getting so thin they are going after A-level students now."
This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky has requested a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a letter addressed directly to the Russian President. He called for an end to the war and even hinted at a potential coup brewing in Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said he was proposing "direct engagement" with Putin in an attempt to end the war. He also detailed the challenges Putin is facing, stating he’d received a report outlining how "30,000 Russian soldiers [were] killed and seriously wounded" in May alone.
"It is not as if we in Ukraine are concerned about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country," he said. "But I do care about Ukrainians."
Suggesting that Putin could soon be overthrown as the war becomes increasingly unpopular in Russia, he said: "But you, too, will have to fight much harder for your own existence - not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or from Ukraine."
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