US Treasury Sanctions 5 Crypto Addresses Linked to Russian Neo-Nazi Paramilitary Group

According to the Treasury Department, members of the sanctioned group fought alongside the Russian military, including near territory that the Ukrainian forces recovered on Monday.

The United States Department of Treasury has added five cryptocurrency addresses linked to a neo-Nazi group involved in Russia's war against Ukraine to the list of entities sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

In a notice released Thursday, the U.S. Treasury designated 22 individuals and 2 entities, many of whom the government department said had furthered Russian government objectives in Ukraine, to its Specially Designated Nationals list, thereby prohibiting people and American companies to deal with them. Sanctions from one of the entities - a neo-Nazi paramilitary group called Task Force Rusich - included 2 cryptocurrency addresses for Bitcoin (BTC), 2 for Ether (ETH), and 1 for Tether (USDT).

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the sanctions were imposed as part of the government's efforts "to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes, atrocities and aggression", financially isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and prevent the country from financing its army. On Monday, the Ukrainian army retook part of the territory east of the city of Kharkiv that had been occupied by Russian forces for months.

According to the Treasury Department, Task Force Rusich fought alongside the Russian military in Ukraine, including near recently reclaimed territory, and had mercenaries accused of "committing atrocities against Ukrainian soldiers dead and captured" in 2015 during the conflict in the Donbass region. The department claimed the neo-Nazi group was responsible for or complicit in actions that "undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or partners" for the benefit of the Russian government.

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