US uncovers Russian group that used cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions

Representatives of the US Department of Justice have announced the dismantling of a Russian-Venezuelan fraud scheme, whose participants used Tether (USDT) to trade oil outside the traditional banking structure, thus avoiding international sanctions.

Five Russians and two Venezuelan nationals were charged with 12 counts of fraud, money laundering, smuggling and illegal trade. Juan Fernando Serrano and Juan Carlos Soto facilitated the trade in and transportation of hundreds of barrels of oil. The Russian residents' task was to make payments and launder money in cryptocurrency to avoid sanctions.

The case is currently being investigated by the National Security and Cybercrime Division of the US Department of Justice. The arrest was made possible thanks to the cooperation of law enforcement agencies from the United States, Germany, and Italy. It is not yet known what punishment the fraudsters will face.

Regarding the use of digital assets by the Russian government, the likelihood that Russia will use cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments is minimal. It is important for a terrorist state to have full control over its own funds and their movement, and this is impossible in the case of cryptocurrencies issued in the United States, including major stablecoins such as Tether and USD Coin. «Entire groups of addresses may be subject to sanctions, with tokens being considered „dirty“ when interacting with them, and counterparties may refuse to transact with such addresses,» said Eduard Davydov, senior partner at Emet Law Firm.