The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on a Russian national, Ekaterina Zhdanova, for her involvement in helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions using cryptocurrency. Zhdanova was tasked with moving over $100 million in crypto from Russia to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on behalf of one oligarch. She also played a role in creating a tax residency service in the UAE for Russian clients, involving payments in both cash and virtual currency. Additionally, Zhdanova laundered $2.3 million for an affiliate of the Russian ransomware group Ryuk, which typically relies on crypto payments. The Treasury believes that these funds originated from ransomware victims. Zhdanova utilized services without anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls, including the Russian crypto exchange Garantex. The Treasury also suspects that she moves money through traditional means such as cash, connections to other money launderers, and a luxury watch company. The sanctions prohibit most transactions between Zhdanova and financial institutions or individuals, and restrict the transfer of her property held by U.S. entities. Three Bitcoin addresses belonging to Zhdanova have been listed and are now restricted. This action by the Treasury is part of a broader effort to target Russia-linked entities, particularly in the aftermath of the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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Information	Details
Geography	Middle East
Countries	🇦🇪 🇺🇦
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	1
People	Ekaterina Zhdanova
Companies	US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Bitriver, Garantex, Russian ransomware group Ryuk
Currencies	US Dollar, Bitcoin, United Arab Emirates Dirham, Russian Ruble
Securities	None