Singapore's Monetary Authority says 'no problem' over 'A7A5' Token2049 sponsorship controversy

Recently, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said there is no problem regarding the controversy over the Russia-based stablecoin (a virtual asset pegged to fiat currency) project 'A7A5', which participated as a sponsor at Token2049 held in Singapore.

On the 8th (Korea time), industry sources said A7A5 recently participated as an official sponsor of Token2049, operating a dedicated booth and brand room.

However, controversy arose after it was revealed that A7A5 was issuing a stablecoin backed by rubles deposited with the Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank(Promsvyazbank·PSB), which has been sanctioned by multiple countries. PSB is included in the sanctions lists of major countries such as the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the UK, and Singapore. The European Union (EU) is also reviewing sanctions on A7A5.

MAS said that A7A5's participation in Token2049 does not violate sanctions regulations at all. According to CoinDesk, an MAS spokesperson said, "Singaporean financial institutions may not facilitate transactions with sanctioned parties, directly or indirectly, but sanctions measures do not apply to non-financial entities that MAS does not regulate."

They explained that since the organizer of Token2049, Hong Kong's BOB Group, is not a financial institution, A7A5's participation in the event itself does not violate sanctions regulations.