The Office of Foreign Asset Control’s list of entities sanctioned by the United States Department of Treasury now includes five cryptocurrency addresses linked to a neo-Nazi group active in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The government’s efforts to stop the country from funding its military, financially isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin, and “hold Russia accountable for its war crimes, atrocities, and aggression,” according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, led to the imposition of the sanctions.
Neo-Nazi group fought alongside Russian military
The US Treasury added two firms and 22 individuals to its list of Specially Designated Nationals on Thursday, including many the government department alleged had furthered the Russian government’s interests in Ukraine, thereby prohibiting US persons and companies from engaging with them. One of the entities sanctioned, a neo-Nazi paramilitary outfit called Task Force Rusich, has two cryptocurrency addresses for Bitcoin (BTC), two for Ether (ETH), and one for Tether (USDT.
Task Force Rusich, according to the Treasury Department, fought with Russia’s forces in Ukraine, particularly on a newly reclaimed territory. Its mercenaries were accused of “committing atrocities against deceased and captured Ukrainian soldiers” in 2015 during the Donbas conflict.
According to the department, the neo-Nazi group was involved in or complicit with activities that “undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners” in favor of the Russian government.
Standing with Ukraine
The US government and several European leaders have enacted sanctions since the Russian military began its invasion of Ukraine in February with the intention of harming the nation’s economy and punishing the wealthy. The Treasury Department also disclosed on Wednesday that it had imposed sanctions on 7 BTC addresses that were reportedly linked to 2 Iranian citizens who were involved in a ransomware gang.
On Monday, Ukrain forces reclaimed a territory that had been held by the Russian military for months to the east of the city of Kharkiv.