Treasury sanctions Huriya CEO’s Tether address over Russia connections

The U.S. Treasury and its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on various entities with ties to Russia on May 19.

Treasury sanctions new crypto address

OFAC has sanctioned several entities including Huriya Private FZ LLE, a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The firm has allegedly laundered money and procured passports for Russian actors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

Sanctions against Huriya Private also extend to the company’s CEO, Irish national John Desmond Hanafin. The Treasury sanctioned Hanafin’s Tether (USDT) address, 0x38735f03b30FbC022DdD06ABED01F0Ca823C6a94.

Separate reports from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic suggest that the address has received over $4.95 million in stablecoin transactions.

Huriya Private and Hanafin are just two individuals named in the latest sanctions. OFAC sanctioned hundreds of other individuals and entities in order to disrupt Russia’s export control evasions, military finances, and energy revenues.

 Other Russia-related Treasury actions

The U.S. Treasury and OFAC have also taken action against other crypto addresses and cryptocurrency companies related to Russia in the past.

In September 2022, OFAC sanctioned several crypto addresses linked to Task Force Rusich. In April 2022, it sanctioned the crypto mining firm BitRiver as well as the Russian darknet market Hydra, which relied on Bitcoin transactions.

In February 2023, the agency sanctioned Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses tied to Russian arms dealer Igor Zimenkov and his son, Jonatan Zimenkov.

The agency has also sanctioned numerous actors in other countries, including North Korea and China, as well as the decentralized cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.

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