The U.S. OFAC announced sanctions against a Russian citizen on charges of virtual currency money laundering.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Russian citizen Ekaterina Zhdanova for laundering money and using virtual currencies to transfer funds on behalf of the Russian elite. U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Brian E. Nelson said: “Through key facilitators like Zhdanova, Russian elites, ransomware groups, and other illicit actors seek to evade U.S. and international sanctions, particularly through the misuse of virtual currencies. OFAC will continue to focus on "To protect the U.S. and international financial system from those seeking to exploit this technology and prevent other illicit financial risks in the virtual asset ecosystem."