Tagged: sanctions

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 4, 2023 @ 2:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On November 3, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova for using cryptocurrency “to launder money on behalf of Russian elites, ransomware groups, and other bad actors.” Chainalysis has examined the three Bitcoin… Read More

November 4, 2023 @ 7:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova for utilizing crypto to launder and move money on behalf of “Russian elites.” Strict sanctions have been enacted by the US and other nations following Russia’s unprovoked… Read More

August 28, 2023 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

P2P digital currency exchanges have reportedly assisted crypto traders with circumventing globally-enforced sanctions against Russia’s banking institutions. Crypto exchange Binance‘s recent activities might worsen its regulatory challenges in the US. The recent crackdown attempts to place a ban on transactions completed with payment cards that… Read More

October 7, 2022 @ 12:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sanctions continue to tighten on Russia as the war drags on with the Ukrainians rapidly regaining their territory. Russia recently held sham elections in several provinces in an attempt to show that inhabitants want to be a part of Russia. While President Putin said he… Read More

September 13, 2022 @ 8:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

This is interesting. At some point today, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the US Department of Treasury, posted an FAQ on Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer that was recently the target of an action by OFAC. Last month, Tornado Cash was… Read More

September 9, 2022 @ 9:48 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) applied sanctions to Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing platform. The second sanctions hitting a mixer, the enforcement action is still the first of its kind as the code running Tornado.cash was open… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The sanctioning of open source crypto mixer Tornado.cash has generated much scrutiny and questions about the legality of a governmental entity punishing code. On August 8th, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer, citing occurrences… Read More

August 13, 2022 @ 3:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The sanctioning of Tornado.cash, a crypto mixing service, has riled many in the crypto-world. This past week, the US Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), targeted the mixer as it is said to launder the proceeds of cybercrime – not just benign… Read More

August 8, 2022 @ 3:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted another crypto mixer by sanctioning Tornado Cash. Most recently, in May, OFAC sanctioned Blender.io, a mixer that is said to be utilized by North Korea  for its “malicious cyber activities and… Read More

July 7, 2022 @ 1:09 pm By Collette Allen  |  

The entire world is on edge with the events unfolding in Ukraine. As NATO responds and sanctions have been imposed on Russia, what does this mean for businesses? As part of an overall Anti-money laundering and fraud protection strategy, screenings performed for new clients prevent… Read More

April 19, 2022 @ 8:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Seon, a startup that’s focused on assisting Fintechs like Revolut with addressing online fraud, has secured $94 million in capital, in order to implement various tools for preventing sanctions evasion by Russia. The London-headquartered firm secured the funding via an investment round that was led… Read More

April 6, 2022 @ 11:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned dark web marketplace Hydra Market, labeling it a pernicious site for malicious cybercrime services, dangerous drugs, ransomware, and other illicit activity. Hydra Market is said to be based in Russia. Also sanctioned, Garantex is a crypto exchange… Read More

April 3, 2022 @ 10:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

European lender Mintos notes that previously, they had prepared an overview of the “broader” effects of the war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and Russian “responding policies on the financial markets.” As noted in a blog post, Mintos is now sharing “an insight into how… Read More

March 18, 2022 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with several other Democrat Senators, introduced legislation that is designed to crack down on Russian “Elites” or oligarchs, who may utilize crypto to evade the economic sanctions that have been applied by many countries around the world. The Digital Asset… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chainalysis, a leading blockchain/crypto monitoring and data platform used by both private and public entities, shared last week that they are building tools that “make it easier for any organization to integrate sanctions screening for cryptocurrencies into their existing operation.” As has been previously reported,… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 5:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of Russia has taken the extraordinary measure of halting trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange now for a second week. In a public statement, the Bank said there would be no trading from 14 to 18 March 2022 on the Moscow Exchange in… Read More

March 10, 2022 @ 3:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following the news that Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) was exiting operations in Russia, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) is reportedly doing the same. The move follows heavy economic sanctions targeting Russia by many countries around the world following Russia’s draconian invasion of Ukraine. JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank… Read More