The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is taking action against five individuals linked to a money laundering network that allegedly enabled Russian elites to evade international sanctions.
In a statement, the Treasury Department said it is imposing sanctions on those linked to the TGR Group, which uses digital assets, including the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT, to facilitate the financial activities of wealthy Russian nationals, despite restrictions which were introduced after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian-born Ukrainian citizen George Rossi is believed to have overall control of the TGR group. Other members and affiliates include Elena Chirkinyan, Andrejs Bradens, Khadzi-Murat Dalgatovich Magomedov and Nikita Vladimirovich Krasnov, OFAC said.
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the blocked persons described above that are located in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.”
The international network is believed to have laundered money on behalf of sanctioned entities, provided unregistered cash and cryptocurrency exchange services, made cash value available to customers in the form of crypto, provided prepaid credit card services and obscured sources of funds , allowing wealthy Russians to buy property in Britain.
Bradley T. Smith, Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said:
“Through the TGR Group, Russian elites sought to exploit digital assets – particularly US dollar-backed stablecoins – to evade US and international sanctions, further enriching themselves and the Kremlin.”
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