The US imposed sanctions against a Russian for laundering money from Russian elites

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) this Friday imposed sanctions on a Russian citizen for money laundering and moving funds through virtual currency for the benefit of the Russian elite and cybercriminals.

In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said that Ekaterina Zhdanova has facilitated access for Russian citizens to Western financial markets.

He used organizations with weak anti-money laundering and terrorist financing controls, such as the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex Europe OU (Garantex).

This type of illicit financial activity using virtual currencies has circumvented international and multilateral US sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We remain focused on protecting the U.S. and international financial system from those who seek to exploit this technology (virtual currencies), as well as other illicit financial risks in the virtual asset ecosystem,” said the U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Counterterrorism and Financial Services. Intelligence Brian Nelson. .

Zhdanova, according to the statement, carried out transfers of virtual currency on behalf of Russian oligarchs to other countries. A man used his wife’s name to transfer more than $100 million in her name to the United Arab Emirates.

Zhdanova also provided her clients with a US tax address, identification and a bank account, which was used to receive funds and transfer them to offshore bank accounts.

The Treasury Department also added that Zhdanova provided services to individuals associated with the Russian Ryuk group, which U.S. law enforcement officials consider an immediate and growing cybercriminal threat to healthcare providers in the country.

As a result of the sanctions imposed this Friday by the US, all assets and properties of US-linked individuals are blocked and US citizens and companies are prohibited from transacting with them.