Russia Ukraine War Latest News LIVE Updates: Cryptocurrency firms targeted in latest Russian sanctions - The Economic Times

The US rolled out new sanctions on Wednesday against more than 40 individuals and entities accused of evading the ongoing wave of penalties imposed on Russia as punishment for invading Ukraine. The sanctions include the first set of penalties against cryptocurrency mining firms in relation to the war.The Treasury Department's sanctions arm designated the commercial bank Transkapitalbank, which has operations in China and the Middle East. Transkapitalbank is a Russian privately owned commercial bank which the U.S. says has helped sanctioned clients process dollar payments, by providing an alternative communication channel to SWIFT — the dominant system for global financial transactions.Treasury also targeted people and companies led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev — the founder of a Russian Orthodox news channel, Tsargrad TV. Malofeyev was also designated for sanctions in December 2014. Treasury said he was one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea.In a first, the U.S. government issued penalties against a cryptocurrency firm in relation to the war. Digital currency firm Bitriver AG and 10 of its subsidiaries were included in Wednesday's package of sanctions from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

via Economictimes