"Russia May Use Ransomware Payouts to Avoid Sanctions"

The Finacial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert advising all financial institutions to remain vigilant against potential efforts by Russia to evade the expansive sanctions.  FinCEN noted that one way this may be done is to move cryptocurrency funds through ransomware payments collected after Russian state-sponsored actors carry out cyberattacks.  FinCEN is now urging financial institutions, including those with visibility into cryptocurrency or convertible virtual currency (CVC) flows, such as CVC exchangers and administrators, to quickly identify and report suspicious activity associated with potential sanctions evasion and conduct an investigation where appropriate.  So far, FinCEN has not seen widespread evasion of sanctions using methods such as cryptocurrency.  The acting director of FinCEN stated that “prompt reporting of suspicious activity” can ensure this remains the case to support U.S. efforts and interest in supporting Ukraine.  Russia state-sponsored actors already have ramped up cyberattacks since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, which means an increase in ransomware activity is not an unlikely scenario.  

Threatpost reports: "Russia May Use Ransomware Payouts to Avoid Sanctions"