Sanction News

Russia has launched a criminal case against the founders of the anonymous payment system UAPS and Cryptex just days after OFAC imposed sanctions. Russian authorities have opened a criminal probe into the founders of the anonymous payment system UAPS and…

Sanctioned crypto mining firm BitRiver suggests Russia could soon outpace the U.S. in mining due to favorable regulations. As U.S. presidential candidates increasingly highlight the importance of blockchain and crypto mining leadership, sanctioned crypto mining firm BitRiver is optimistic about…

The Russian government has formed a focus group to trial crypto payments for foreign trade, focusing on importers of goods with potential military applications. Russia has established a focus group under an experimental legal regime to explore the use of…

Blockchain analysts warn that the Russian government may use crypto exchanges like Garantex for sanctions evasion under the new legislation. The Russian government is likely to rely on domestic crypto exchanges like Garantex for sanctions evasion as it adapts to…

Russia’s Finance Ministry and central bank are in talks about setting up a domestic crypto exchange, though no final decision has been made yet. As Russia explores the development of its own crypto trading platforms, driven by the need to…

Analysts at TRM Labs say Russian-speaking ransomware groups accounted for nearly 70% of all crypto proceeds from ransomware in 2023. Russia has seemingly become the center for ransomware-related threat actors in 2023 Russian-speaking ransomware groups accounted for nearly 70% of…

Nearly 30% of all crypto traced from illicit addresses since 2019 ended up at sanctioned services like Russia’s crypto exchange Garantex, according to Chainalysis. Cryptocurrency exchanges have received nearly $100 billion worth of crypto from well-known illicit addresses since 2019,…

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is reportedly working on allowing stock exchanges to open crypto trades, but restrict access to a limited group of “highly qualified” investors. Russia‘s Ministry of Finance, also known as Minfin, is exploring measures to permit crypto…

Russia’s sanctioned business association considers a national Bitcoin fund to enhance the use of digital financial assets in foreign trade. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), a sanctioned Russian union representing the country’s wealthiest business figures, is considering…

The European Council has unveiled a 14th package of sanctions, targeting crypto providers established outside of Europe that support Russia’s defence-industrial base. European leaders have adopted another package of sanctions designed to target “high-value sectors of the Russian economy, like…

Supporters of Sweden’s largest neo-Nazi group donated crypto via centralized exchanges and mining pools, blockchain investigators say. The Nordic Resistance Movement, the largest neo-Nazi group in Sweden which was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign…

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned a Russian national working at Polyus, Russia’s largest state-owned gold producer for being involved in a complex crypto laundering scheme. The U.S. Department of Treasury on Jan. 12 announced another package of sanctions against 300…

Russia’s crypto mining equipment supplier Intelion is reportedly considering an investment of over $130 million to develop AI data centers. Moscow-headquartered crypto mining supplier Intelion is planning to spend up to 12 billion Russian rubles (over $130 million) on purchasing…

Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis has discovered $169 million in Bitcoin connected to the 911 S5 botnet, facilitating the arrest of Chinese national Yunhe Wang. Crypto analysis firm Chainalysis has traced $169 million in Bitcoin linked to the notorious 911 S5…

Russia’s two largest unsanctioned metal producers have reportedly begun using Tether’s USDT stablecoin for cross-border transactions with Chinese clients and suppliers. Russian commodities giants have reportedly started using stablecoins to settle cross-border transactions with China as the U.S. Treasury Department…

Treasury’s OFAC has sanctioned the Russian developer of LockBit, who transferred crypto to various illicit services, including sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex, Chainalysis says. Dmitry Khoroshev, a Russian developer of the ransomware program called LockBit which has been recently sanctioned by…