Tagged: ofac

November 13, 2025 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a wide-ranging attack on drug-based money laundering, the US Department of the Treasury, in partnership with the Mexican government, has applied sanctions and other measures to undermine organized crime operating in Mexico, Europe, Canada, and elsewhere. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and… Read More

November 9, 2025 @ 7:44 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A new report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions suggests sanctions activity has moderated since a flurry caused by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Sanctions Pulse analyzes data from the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK Office… Read More

October 16, 2025 @ 4:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) have jointly taken action to address a pig butchering operation in Cambodia. The online affinity scams frequently utilize crypto to steal funds from their targets. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets… Read More

September 17, 2025 @ 5:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In an escalation of efforts to curb Iran’s illicit financial activities, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on September 16, 2025, targeting a sophisticated shadow banking network. This operation, valued at over $600 million in cryptocurrency inflows,… Read More

August 14, 2025 @ 11:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Garantex Europe OU, a crypto exchange based in Russia (originally registered in Estonia), has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury. The sanctions were applied due to claims that Garantex was aiding criminals and sanction evasion. The crypto exchange is said to have… Read More

July 3, 2025 @ 11:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On July 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Aeza Group, a Russia-based bulletproof hosting (BPH) services provider, for its role in facilitating cybercriminal activities targeting victims in the United States and globally. Bulletproof hosting… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 11:47 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury has announced that it has removed the economic sanctions applied to Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer. Tornado Cash, a decentralized platform, enables users to cloak crypto activity to a certain degree. In 2222, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 3:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, the sole administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace, which was subject of an international law enforcement operation and “was taken down in 2024.” Prior to its takedown by… Read More

February 11, 2025 @ 8:16 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has partnered with Australia and the UK to sanction Zservers as it is an enabler of LockBit, a Russian ransomware group. LockBit is said to be the culprit in the attack against the… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 10:57 am By JD Alois  |  

China state-affiliated entities have been hacking both public and private organizations in the US for years now. This is part of China’s goal to usurp the US as the world’s top superpower.  In an embarrassing revelation, the US Department of Treasury was hacked, including, apparently,… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two individuals and a single entity regarding money laundering to the benefit of North Korea. OFAC says that Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, working out of the UAE and… Read More

November 27, 2024 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

In 2022, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted DeFi crypto mixer Tornado Cash with sanctions, claiming the platform had laundered over $7 billion. At that time, The Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson, claimed: “Today,… Read More

October 1, 2024 @ 10:43 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning individuals and entities affiliated with Evil Corp, a cybercriminal operation based in Russia. OFAC is taking the action in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and… Read More

September 27, 2024 @ 9:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On September 26, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Russia-based exchange Cryptex and Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov (a.k.a. UAPS a.k.a TALEON), who facilitated laundering “for fraud shops, ransomware payments, darknet markets, and other criminal actors.” Following these developments,… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 6:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On August 23, 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced further sanctions against nearly 400 entities as a part of ongoing multilateral efforts “to weaken Russia’s military supply chain and procurement networks.” Chainalysis noted in a blog… Read More

March 26, 2024 @ 3:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned thirteen entities and two individuals for operating in the financial services and technology sectors of the Russian Federation economy “including persons developing or offering services in virtual assets that enable the evasion of… Read More

January 23, 2024 @ 12:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Alexander Ermakov for the 2022 ransomware attack against Medibank Private Limited, an Australian insurer. The US worked in concert with Australia and the United Kingdom on the designation. Ermakov is believed… Read More

January 22, 2024 @ 5:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed a fifth round of sanctions on Hamas since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. According to OFAC, the sanctions have targeted Hamas-affiliated financial exchanges in Gaza, their owners and associates,… Read More

November 29, 2023 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

Mixers, or platforms that seek to cover the tracks of crypto movement, are making news again as the US Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has sanctioned Sinbad.io (Sinbad) for helping North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)) in its… Read More

November 21, 2023 @ 5:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

As was reported earlier today, Binance has settled charges in a comprehensive manner, paying total penalties of $4.3 billion, described as the largest settlement of its kind ever. Binance is noted as the largest crypto exchange in the world, handling approximately 60% of centralized digital… Read More