On June 3, 2021 - I walked you through the Biden Administration’s Executive Order and Fight Against Corruption- ahead of G7 & NATO summits (next week) timing matters, found here . There’s a reason I’m pointing your attention to that June 3rd Article → G7 (for now put a pin in that because I’ll elaborate more as it relates to the newest round of sanctions)
…Presnenskaya Embankment, 12, Federation East Tower, Floor 31, Suite Q, Moscow 123317, Russia; Skorepka 1058/8 Stare Mesto, Prague 110 00, Czech Republic (Latin: Skořepka 1058/8 Staré Město, Praha 110 00, Czech Republic);
Website suex.io -and while there’s plenty of public reporting which shows SUEX OTC currently have offices in the Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It’s long been believed that Suex maintains operations outside of Russia. Specifically in the surrounding area, and possible that they may have an office in the Middle East, but thus far I haven’t been able to confirm an office in the ME…
…a virtual currency exchange, for its part in facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors. SUEX has facilitated transactions involving illicit proceeds from at least eight ransomware variants. Analysis of known SUEX transactions shows that over 40% of SUEX’s known transaction history is associated with illicit actors. SUEX is being designated pursuant to Executive Order 13694, as amended, for providing material support to the threat posed by criminal ransomware actors.
The renewed Advisory emphasizes - the “nexus of sanctions”
Stop paying ransoms…
…the U.S. government continues to strongly discourage the payment of cyber ransom or extortion demands and recognizes the importance of cyber hygiene in preventing or mitigating such attacks. OFAC has also updated the Advisory to emphasize the importance of improving cybersecurity practices and reporting to, and cooperating with, appropriate U.S. government agencies in the event of a ransomware attack
…Corruption is a risk to our national security, and we must recognize it as such…
The Memorandum sets forth - establishing and combatting corruption as a core U.S. national security interest. Furthermore President Biden’s Memorandum directing departments and agencies to make recommendations that will significantly bolster the ability of the U.S. government to combat corruption.
the G7 Cyber Expert Group (CEG), co-chaired by Treasury and Bank of England, met on September 1 and September 14, 2021 to discuss ransomware, which remains a grave concern given the number and breadth of ransomware attacks across industry sectors. The participants considered the effects of ransomware attacks on the financial services sector, as well as the broader economy, and explored ways to help improve overall security and resilience against malicious cyber activity.
...otherwise have a sanctions nexus…
…nexus ansomware attacks have become more focused, sophisticated, costly, and numerous… According to recent data by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI
21% increase in reported ransomware cases, and
a 225% increase in associated losses from 2019 to 2020.
Ransomware attacks are carried out against private and governmental entities of all sizes and in all sectors, including organizations operating critical infrastructure, such as hospitals. Often attacks also take place against vulnerable entities such as school districts and smaller businesses, in part due to the attacker’s assumption that such victims may have fewer resources to invest in cyber protection and will make quick payment to restore services.
Compare Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2019 Internet Crime Report, available via https://pdf.ic3.gov/2019_IC3Report.pdf,
Legal Entity Number 5299007NTWCC3U23WM812 (Czech Republic) [CYBER2]. And this is one of the reasons I think it’s important to read an organization’s articles of incorporation - I now refer you to pages 1 and 2 which disclosed the names of “partners” in SUEX OTC, S.R.O — their known aliases and disclosure of “shares” in the Organization
Egor Petukhovsky, born April 8, 1985, residence Republic of Belarus, Vitebsk, Čkalova 29/1/74 (hereinafter also referred to as " Egor Petukhovsky " or only " Founder 1 "),
Maksim Subbotin, b. May 3, 1987, residence of the Russian Federation, Moscow, 40 years old Oktjabja 20/15 (hereinafter also referred to as " Maksim Subbotin " or only " Founder 2 "),
Ildar Zakirov, b. July 29, 1988, Russian Federation, Magnitogorsk, Domenshikov 23/1/40 (hereinafter also referred to as " Ildar Zakirov " or " Founder 3 ")
Vasilii Zhabykin, b. 7/13/1981, residence Russian Federation, Moscow, Polotskaya 3 (hereinafter also referred to as “ Vasilii Zhabykin ” or “ Founder 4 ”)
Organization Established Date 25 Sep 2018;
Which is notable because setting aside that the OFAC has now targeted SUEX OTC, S.R.O. and in combination with this recent Report;
Nearly $13 million from ransomware operators including Ryuk, Conti, Maze, and several others
Over $24 million from cryptocurrency scam operators including the fraudsters behind Finiko, a scam that took in over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency from victims primarily in Russia and Ukraine
Over $20 million from darknet markets, primarily the Russia-based Hydra Market
In 2019, illicit activity represented 2.1% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume or roughly $21.4 billion worth of transfers. In 2020, the illicit share of all cryptocurrency activity fell to just 0.34%, or $10.0 billion in transaction volume. One reason the percentage of illicit activity fell is because overall economic activity nearly tripled between 2019 and 2020.
When compared to the 2019 data - the cryptocurrency ecosystem already had the markers to show a significant uptick in illicit activity, concerning cryptocurrency but the recent OFAC Sanctions mean that the US Treasury is certainly ramping up its previously discussed cryptocurrency efforts. See 2019 Crypto ChainAnalysis Report -which states in part:
The Rogue 100 are extremely active traders and have a huge impact on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. They’ve received steadily increasing amounts of cryptocurrency each month since late 2017, but their activity skyrocketed this year. They received more than $3 billion worth of Bitcoin over the course of 2019, and many of them played a substantial role in the PlusToken scam we've discussed previously. Overall, the funds the Rogue 100 receive can account for as much as 1% of all Bitcoin activity in a given month.
By analyzing their transactions in Chainalysis Reactor, we can see how two corrupt OTC brokers take in funds from criminal sources.
According to the recent Microsoft Digital Defense Report, nearly half of these groups come from Russia. Iran, China and North Korea are other common hotbeds for ransomware groups. Meaning that the United States being the most common target for bad actors
OFAC designated SUEX OTC, S.R.O. (“SUEX”), a virtual currency exchange, for its part in facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors, involving illicit proceeds from at least eight ransomware variants. Analysis of known SUEX transactions showed that over 40% of SUEX’s known transaction history was associated with illicit actors.
And just in case you overlooked this - I would recommend that you read it.
And lastly if BTC-e makes you kind of twitchy - it’s expected because there are a lot of thread here and it’s kind of odd that
Wex Dmitry Vasiliev
The Former head of the largest Russian crypto-exchangeWex Dmitry Vasiliev was arrested in Poland (BBC-Russia link embedded) —his arrest appears to have occurred sometime in early August 2021 and speaking of Kazakhstan;
The ex-head of the largest Russian crypto-exchange Wex Dmitry Vasiliev was detained in Warsaw.Two years ago he was already arrested in Italy, but then he managed to return to Russia. On the second attempt, he can still be extradited to Kazakhstan, where a criminal case of fraud has been opened against him
In the summer of 2017, BTC-e was closed - after the arrest in Greece of one of the alleged administrators of the exchange, Alexander Vinnik. In the fall of the same year, it restarted under the new name Wex, and Vasiliev became its director. He was also the sole owner of the official legal entity of the exchange - a company from Singapore.
As of the end of 2017, Wex rounded out the top ten largest crypto-exchanges in the world, with a daily trading turnover of $ 80 million, RBC wrote.
According to Russian State Media…Interpol had Vasilyev on a list and the extradition request came from Kazakhstan
…former head of the WEX cryptocurrency exchange, Russian Dmitry Vasilyev, was detained, a representative of the city's District Prosecutor's Office told RIA Novosti. He said that this happened with the participation of Interpol . The interlocutor of the agency clarified that "the request for the extradition of Dmitry V. (the name of the suspect is not named according to Polish law - Ed. Note) was sent by Kazakhstan", it is being studied, but the decision has not yet been made.
Vasilyev was suspected of involvement in the disappearance of $ 450 million belonging to investors from the European Union and other countries.
Intersection of Akexander Vinnik & BTCe
On June 27, 2021 a French Appeals Court - AFFIRMED the Lower Court’s Five Year Prison Term. Although Vinnik continues to fight extradition back to America, my best guess is that’s a losing battle.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 - Russian National And Bitcoin Exchange Charged In 21-Count Indictment For Operating Alleged International Money Laundering Scheme And Allegedly Laundering Funds From Hack Of Mt. Gox - 2017 Defendant Vinnik Superseding Indictment
So YES it’s kind of a big deal that the US Treasury sanctioned SUEX OTC, S.R.O because it’s the first of its kind and it shows that our Government will use sanctions to inflict economic pain for those bad internet actors. Especially those who engage in cyber crimes, like cyber extortion. Stop paying ransoms and start securing your shit…
If you are going to report “facts” then there should be a prerequisite expectation that you should be required to show your research and original documents. Below is the Czech Republic Business Database, and SUEX OTC, S.R.O. file - you might have to hit the translation button but there are a few underlying reasons I’m giving you this research:
Thank you Files, this is very good news. I'm glad our new administration is just as concerned about cyber security as the victims are. I mentioned awhile back how our tribal government was attacked. Unfortunately our governor chose to pay the damned ransom 2M.🙄 Idk if he had the permission by the tribal council members, but we're looking into it. I believe he reported it to the FBI after the ransom was paid, I still don't know how it was paid, and access was not restored. The hackers demanded more money.🤨
In addition to this tribal government fiasco I was recently informed that my information was accessed by a third party from the hospital where I have always received care.🙄🤮🤮... This is so upsetting, and there isn't anything I can do about it. The hospital has offered a one year service to some sort of credit agency who will keep an eye on active of anyone trying to get credit using my information. What is really upsetting is after a year WTH am I supposed to do? I can't afford to pay these people to continue watching my credit information. I hope Biden Harris administration can somehow make a dent in the cyber security criminal enterprise.
Thank you Files, this is very good news. I'm glad our new administration is just as concerned about cyber security as the victims are. I mentioned awhile back how our tribal government was attacked. Unfortunately our governor chose to pay the damned ransom 2M.🙄 Idk if he had the permission by the tribal council members, but we're looking into it. I believe he reported it to the FBI after the ransom was paid, I still don't know how it was paid, and access was not restored. The hackers demanded more money.🤨
In addition to this tribal government fiasco I was recently informed that my information was accessed by a third party from the hospital where I have always received care.🙄🤮🤮... This is so upsetting, and there isn't anything I can do about it. The hospital has offered a one year service to some sort of credit agency who will keep an eye on active of anyone trying to get credit using my information. What is really upsetting is after a year WTH am I supposed to do? I can't afford to pay these people to continue watching my credit information. I hope Biden Harris administration can somehow make a dent in the cyber security criminal enterprise.