The US Treasury Department has added five cryptocurrency addresses linked to a neo-Nazi group involved in Russia’s war on Ukraine to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s list of authorized entities.
In an announcement Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department named 22 individuals and 2 entities, including several government departments, on a list of specially selected nationals of Russian government targets in Ukraine. Included in the sanctions of one of the parties – the neo-Nazi paramilitary group Task Force Rusich – 2 cryptocurrency addresses for Bitcoin (BTC), 2 for Ether (ETH) and 1 for Tether (USDT).
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the sanctions were “part of the government’s efforts to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes, atrocities and aggression, to financially isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and to cut off the country’s military funding.” .
According to the Treasury Department, Task Force Rusich has been fighting Russian forces in Ukraine, including the recently annexed territory, and in During the conflict in the Donbass region in 2015, they were accused of “brutal atrocities against dead and captured Ukrainian soldiers.” The department said the neo-Nazi group is responsible for “conducting acts that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States” for the benefit of the Russian government.
Related: Ukraine has shown the value of cryptocurrency to real people.
Since the Russian military began invading Ukraine in February, the US government and several European officials have imposed sanctions to weaken the country’s economy and punish wealthy individuals. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced it had blocked 7 BTC addresses allegedly linked to 2 Iranian nationals who were part of a ransomware group.