US sanctions agency OFAC to rely more heavily on Chainalysis
Govt agencies want more tools to trace suspect crypto transactions. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control has requested another subscription to Chainalysis analytics software in order to step up its blockchain transaction surveillance efforts.In a public notice sent out on May 26, the agency confirmed its intention to subscribe to Chainalysis’s Rumker Training and Support Packages for what it deems as “mission-critical research”, further expanding its arsenal of surveillance tools.This week’s public notice marks the second such request that the agency has made this month, having made a....
Related News
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently issued an advisory highlighting the sanctions risk American citizens face if they help facilitate ransomware payments. In the advisory, the OFAC says it will “continue to impose sanctions on those who materially assist, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for these activities.” In the document, the OFAC argues that acceding to ransomware demands–which are normally settled using cryptocurrencies–not only emboldens cybercriminals but also....
Blockchain forensics company Chainalysis is launching two tools that will allow crypto companies to deny sanctioned persons and entities access to their platforms. The move comes amid concerns that Russia may use cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions imposed due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Chainalysis Offers Crypto Industry New Sanctions-Screening Tools
As the military conflict in Ukraine intensifies, western allies continue to expand sanctions on Russia, including by targeting opportunities to employ crypto assets to circumvent the restrictions. Blockchain analytics firm....
BitPay apparently screened merchants but not customers. BitPay will have to pay the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control over half a million dollars for crypto services to sanctioned regions. In a Feb. 18 announcement of the settlement, OFAC said that BitPay had facilitated "approximately $129,000 worth of digital currency-related transactions with BitPay’s merchant customers" by users from Crimea, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria — effectively the full range of geographical sanctions that OFAC has in place. OFAC repeated that crypto firms need to align themselves with....
The minting of OFAC-compliant Ethereum blocks on a daily basis has grown to 73%, adding to the community's growing censorship concerns. Considering that protocol-level censorship is deterrent to the crypto ecosystem's goal of highly open and accessible finance, the community has been keeping track of Ethereum’s growing compliance with standards laid down by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Over the last 24 hours, the Ethereum network was found to enforce OFAC compliance on over 73% of its blocks.Ethereum sporting 73% OFAC-compliant blocks. Source: mevwatch.info In Oct. 2022,....
The government agency hinted at possible additional sanctions for "financial institutions, cyber insurance firms, and companies involved in digital forensics and incident response" that facilitated ransomware payments. The United States Department of the Treasury has announced it will impose sanctions on Czech Republic and Russia-based business Suex OTC for allegedly allowing hackers to access cryptocurrency sent as payment for ransomware attacks.In a Sept. 21 advisory update, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, added Suex OTC to its list of Specially....