EU’s 19th Russia Sanctions Hit Payeer With Full Transaction Ban

tamir
Thu, 30 Oct 2025 08:35:22 +0000
Sanctions, Anton Stjopotškin, Ekaterina Olegnova Gorshkova, Elena Kulbikova, Fincana, Joseph Olatilewa Jaiyeola, Kosolapova Evgenia Nikolaevna, Liubov Svezhentseva, Paycorp, Payeer, Runwill, Sergey Mayzus, Smitri Allikas, Stanislav Lattu

The EU’s 19th sanctions package (23 Oct 2025) imposes a transaction ban on Russian-linked payment platform Payeer, alongside several third-country financial operators aiding circumvention. EU operators must cease dealings; a brief wind-down for Payeer runs to 25 Nov 2025. Lithuania had already fined Payeer UAB in 2024 for sanctions/AML breaches (Source: Finance).

Key Facts

Measure: “Transaction ban” — EU persons/entities are prohibited from carrying out any transactions with listed operators (Source: Finance)

Effective date: Package adopted 23 Oct 2025; Payeer ban starts 25 Nov 2025 (shorter start of 12 Nov for others listed) (Source: Rat der Europäischen Union).

Who’s hit: Payeer plus multiple third-country banks/oil traders and additional Russian banks for sanctions circumvention support (Source: Rat der Europäischen Union)

Why Payeer matters: Long associated with Russian-linked activity; EU now escalates to a full transaction ban (Source: TRM Labs)

Corporate opacity: Current site shows “PAYEER trademark — Payeer E.A.S.” with a UK correspondence address; operations previously cycled via Estonia and Lithuania (Source: Payeer).

Prior enforcement: Lithuania’s FCIS (FNTT) issued a record fine (~€9.3m) in July 2024 for international-sanctions and AML failures at Payeer UAB (Source: Finansinių Nusikaltimų Tyrimo Tarnyba).

Read our Payeer reports here.

Short Analysis

The EU’s transaction-ban tool is narrower than an asset freeze but broader in practical impact: it bars EU operators (banks, PSPs, exchanges, merchants, tech vendors) from any dealings with Payeer, cutting access to payment rails, crypto services, and commercial relationships. For Payeer, the grace period to 25 Nov 2025 only enables technical wind-down; ongoing business with EU counterparties after that date would violate EU law.

For compliance teams, the risk profile is now unambiguous. FinTelegram has repeatedly flagged Payeer’s Russian control/links and serial jurisdiction-hopping (Estonia → Lithuania → Paraguay E.A.S. with a UK maildrop), coupled with weak controls—concerns corroborated by Lithuania’s record FNTT penalty. High-risk merchants (gambling/forex/crypto) relying on Payeer must de-onboard and evidence termination, update sanctions screens, and ring-fence historical flows for lookbacks.

Action Items for EU-regulated firms

Add Payeer to Blocked Counterparty lists; 2) Halt new/renewed contracts; 3) Complete KYC/KYB remediation for connected merchants; 4) File SAR/STR where warranted; 5) Preserve records for competent-authority inspections. (Derived from EU sanctions package language.)

Key data Payeer

Trading name | Payeer

Business activity

high-risk payment processor, crypto exchange,
merchant service prodiver

Domain

https://payeer.com
https://payeer.cc

Legal entities

Payeer E.A.S. (Paraguay)
Payeer OÜ (Estonia)
Payeer UAB (Lithuania)
PayCorp Limited (Vanuatu)
Fincana OÜ (Estonia)
Runwill Sp. z o. o. (Poland)
PAYEER LLC (Georgia)
FINGATE LLC (Georgia)
AKKORD WELT LP (Scotland)
Worldwide System K/S (Denmark)
Mayzus Financial Services Ltd (UK)
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS LTD (BVI)
PAYEER RUS LLC (Russia)
PB24 CORP (Panama)

Related individuals

Anton Stjopotškin, Estonia (UBO)
Joseph Olatilewa Jaiyeola, Estonia
Ekaterina Olegovna Gorshkova, Russia
Liubov Svezhentseva, Russia
Kosolapova Evgenia Nikolaevna, Russia
Elena Kulbikova, Russia
Sergey Mayzus, Russia
Dmitri Allikas (old)
Stanislav Lattu (old)

Jurisdictions

Estonia, Vanuatu, Russia,
BVI, Poland, Panama, Georgia,
Denmark

Regulators

FIU Estonia renounced in Jan 2023
FCIS (Financial Crime Investigation Service) Lithuania
VFSC

Trustpilot rating | 4.6-star rating with an “Excellent” trust level

Facilitated schemes

PO Trade, Pocket Option,
Capital Letter, FXTradePremiums, Deal Trade
Optimus Markets, Spintop Capital, SuperForex
and counting

Whistleblower Request

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