The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a second cryptocurrency exchange “for facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors.” Two ransomware operators were also sanctioned and $ 6.1 million in funds were seized.
US Treasury Sanctions Another Cryptocurrency Exchange
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Monday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned ransomware operators and a cryptocurrency exchange.
The crypto exchange Chatex and its associated support network have been sanctioned “for facilitating financial transactions for ransomware players,” says the Treasury. “Analysis of Chatex’s known transactions indicate that over half are directly traced to illicit or high-risk activities such as darknet markets, high-risk exchanges, and ransomware.”
Chatex has direct ties to Suex OTC, the first crypto exchange sanctioned by OFAC on September 21, the Treasury noted.
The OFAC also sanctioned Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi and Russian Yevgeniy Polyanin Monday “for their part in perpetuating Sodinokibi/Revil ransomware incidents against the United States.” The Treasury added that the two are “part of a group of cybercriminals who have engaged in ransomware activity and received over $ 200 million in ransoms paid in bitcoin and monero.”
The Treasury explained: “All property and interests in property of the designated targets that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. In addition, any entity 50% or more owned by one or more designated persons is also blocked. “
The announcement describes:
While most virtual currency activity is licit, virtual currency remains the primary mechanism for ransomware payments, and certain unscrupulous virtual currency exchanges are an important piece of the ransomware ecosystem.
DOJ Seizes $ 6.1 Million in Funds Held by FTX Trading
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) independently announced Monday that it had seized $ 6.1 million from Polyanin, noting that Polyanin and Vasinskyi were “accused of deploying Sodinokibi / Revil ransomware to attack companies and government entities in the United States ”.
The $6.1 million in funds seized are traceable to alleged ransom payments received by Polyanin, the Justice Department said. The funds were held in an “FTX Trading Limited account” in the name of “Evegnii Igorevich Polianin” and / or “Evgeniy Igorevich Polyanin”, indicates the DOJ’s seizure warrant.
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, both individuals received substantial amounts of cryptocurrency. The firm detailed that across all sanctioned addresses named:
Polyanin received over $ 11.5 million in bitcoin and over $ 2 million in USDT_ETH, while Vasinskyi received over $ 900,000 in bitcoin.
