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The US Department of the Treasury's foreign property control office has added two cryptocurrency portfolios allegedly linked to a Russian sanctions escape network as that is included in its list of specially designated nationals.
In a Feb. 1 announcement, OFAC said it had added one Bitcoin () address and one Ether () address to its list of sanctioned entities as part of a move to “methodically and intensively target sanctions evasion efforts around the globe.” Treasury said it would impose “full blocking sanctions” on 22 individuals, including Jonatan Zimenkov, a Russian national with access to at least one BTC wallet and one ETH wallet.
According to the American Treasury, Jonatan is the son of the igor vladimirovich zimenkov arms dealer, who runs the sanctions evasion ring. The group would be at the origin of the supply of technologies to a Russian company after the Ukrainian invasion in February 2022, and the support of some "assented to, Russian defense entities belonging to the State», including rosoboroneksport and rostec.
"igor zimenkov was appointed in accordance with e.o. 14024 to operate or to have operated in the defense sector and related equipment of the economy of the Russian Federation," declared ofac. Jonatan Zimenkov was also appointed under E.O. 14024 for having provided substantial support, sponsored, or financially provided, material, or technology medium to, or goods or services to or from, Igor Zimenkov.”
The Treasury is taking more systematic action under the U.S. strategy.https://t.co/q7a6DIxhZg
— Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo (@TreasuryDepSec) February 1, 2023
The BTC address provided by Treasury showed no balance at the time of publication. The ETH address likewise contained no tokens but showed four transactions totaling roughly 5,463 ETH in early 2022 — more than $16 million at the time.
Related: Kraken settles with US Treasury's OFAC for 'apparent' sanctions violations
The US Treasury appears to have intensified its efforts to include crypto portfolios as part of its sanctions measures. The government department effectively barred U.S. residents from using the controversial Tornado Cash mixer, an action that later prompted lawsuits from crypto advocacy groups and investors.
