Quote:In an unprecedented move, the federal government has sanctioned a cryptocurrency exchange for laundering ransom transactions for cybercriminals and helping them evade law-enforcement activity.
As part of its continued hardline against ransomware attacks, the U.S. Department of Treasury has prohibited anyone in the United States from conducting business with SUEX OTC, a Russian-linked currency exchange. It’s registered in the Czech Republic but operates out of Moscow.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) designation of SUEX also blocks all of its property or interests in property that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction, according to a press release published Tuesday.
The feds analyzed SUEX’s transactions and found that the exchange facilitated transactions of illicit proceeds from at least eight ransomware variants, according to the release.
Moreover, OFAC’s analysis of known SUEX transactions showed that more than 40 percent of SUEX’s transaction history is associated with illicit actors. The office is sanctioning SUEX under Executive Order 13694, which was enacted by President Obama in 2015 and allows for taking action against “certain persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities.”
The Wall Street Journal had reported last week that such a move was in the cards as part of the Biden administration’s crackdown on ransomware.
“Ransomware and cyberattacks are victimizing businesses large and small across America and are a direct threat to our economy,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a press statement. “We will continue to crack down on malicious actors.”
Read more: Feds Sanctions SUEX Cryptocurrency Exchange for Laundering Ransomware Payouts | Threatpost
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