ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 13 entities and two individuals on Monday for facilitating Russian nationals in evading sanctions by establishing services related to cryptocurrency.OFAC stated in a press release that many of the individuals and entities sanctioned on Monday facilitated transactions or provided services to help other designated entities evade sanctions. The statement emphasized that the Treasury will continue to expose and disrupt those companies attempting to assist sanctioned Russian financial institutions in reconnecting with the global financial system.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named two Russians, Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, who were indicted for deploying ransomware in a statement, and identified 10 Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses that have been added to the U.S. Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, prohibiting U.S. entities from providing any form of financial services to these two individuals. OFAC stated that the two are members of the LockBit ransomware group, which is one of the world's most prolific ransomware distributors, accused of stealing over $120 million from more than 2,000 victims over the past few years.Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice, Europol, the UK's National Crime Agency, and agencies from several other countries seized LockBit's website and various web pages in an international operation. Law enforcement announced that they would distribute decryption keys to victims, enabling them to regain access to their devices.

ChainCatcher message, according to research by Ethereum Foundation researcher Toni Wahrstätter, published in the data blocks of MEV-Boost, about 72% are now considered "censored," up from about 25% in November 2022. This metric measures the blocks assembled by MEV-Boost block builders, who, according to statistical analysis, seem to have deliberately excluded crypto addresses that are sanctioned by the U.S. OFAC.Wahrstätter explained, "Block builders have the right to decide which transactions (and in what order) to include in their blocks, as well as which transactions they want to censor. This means that block builders can determine the content of the blockchain."

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Russian citizen Ekaterina Zhdanova for her role in laundering and transferring funds using virtual currency on behalf of Russian elites. This action aligns with the G7's commitment to combat evasion of sanctions and eliminate loopholes that allow the Russian state, its elites, agents, and oligarchs to use virtual currency to offset the impact of international sanctions.In March 2022, Ekaterina Zhdanova assisted a Russian client in obfuscating the source of their wealth to transfer over $2.3 million to Western Europe through falsely opened investment accounts and real estate purchases. Zhdanova's services provided Russians with access to Western financial markets, and this type of illicit financial activity can be used to circumvent U.S. and international multilateral sanctions.