US Treasury Added BTC Exchanges To Sanctions List Over Ransom Links

The US treasury added BTC exchanges to a sanctions list over its ransomware connectivities because the Biden administration is going after the ransomware hackers including these crypto exchanges that facilitate payments in Monero and BTC so let’s read more in today’s Bitcoin news.

The US treasury added BTC exchanges to a sanctions list because according to the agency, it has been facilitating ransomware payments. The Office of Foreign Asset controls placed the global crypto exchange Chatex on the sanctions list alongside three companies that already provide it with infrastructural support, Latvia-based Chatextech SIA, Estonia-based IZIBITS OU, Hightrade Finance LTD, and also Ukrainian and Russian national who operated recent ransomware attacks.

Ransomware is malicious software that hackers use to take control of the individual computers or the computer networks and get the owners out of the ways so they can then demand payment in the form of BTC or privacy coin Monero to restore access. The Treasury Department explained:

“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.”

The Treasury Department claimed that Chatex facilitates peer to peer trades via social networks like Telegram has direct ties to Suex as a crypto exchange that got sanctioned on September 21 for facilitating payments for hackers. The sanctions imposed Chatex assets into the US being blocked so that the American citizens and companies could not legally conduct busienss with this exchange or its affiliates. The governments of Estonia and Latvia got suspended when registering for Izibits OU and Chatextech.

OFAC added Ukraine national Yaroslav Vasinsky and Russian national Yevgeniy Polyanin to the sanctions list for their role in launching ransomware attacks against an IT software provider Kaseya that happened in July.
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The Treasury believes that both men were involved with ReVil and Sodinokibi hacking groups that raked more than $200 million in Monero and BTC ransoms. The Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo wrote:

That’s a hefty chunk of the $590 million in reported ransomware payments the administration cited today.

“Ransomware groups and criminal organizations have targeted American businesses and public institutions of all sizes and across sectors, seeking to undermine the backbone of our economy. This is a top priority for the Biden Administration.”