The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, has issued an alert advising financial institutions to be wary of companies trying to dodge the sanctions placed on Russia, a press release said.
The alert comes with red flags to help identify attempts to avoid the sanctions.
“In the face of mounting economic pressure on Russia, it is vitally important for U.S. financial institutions to be vigilant about potential Russian sanctions evasion, including by both state actors and oligarchs,” said Acting Director Him Das. “Although we have not seen widespread evasion of our sanctions using methods such as cryptocurrency, prompt reporting of suspicious activity contributes to our national security and our efforts to support Ukraine and its people.”
Large scale evasion, in which a government using convertible virtual currency, might not be practicable, but the release said CVC exchangers and administrators might see some attempts to make transactions, or complete transactions, tied to CVC wallets.
There could also be Russian-related ransomware campaigns.
The release says all financial institutions should identify and report suspicious activity related to potential sanctions evasion.
Read more: EU Pressed to Accelerate Crypto Frameworks vs AML, Sanctions Evasion
PYMNTS wrote that the European Union is looking into regulating cryptocurrency as part of its sanctions enforcement.
Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank president, has said there are “always criminal ways” to circumvent prohibitions, so that was why they needed to push through the regulations.
That will come in the form of MiCA, or the Markets in Crypto Assets Framework, which would standardize crypto issuance and trading, and fuse with other EU legislation focused on anti-money-laundering efforts.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More