Elliptic Identifies Sanctioned Russian Crypto Assets

Analytical company Elliptic said it had handed information to U.S. authorities about a digital wallet allegedly linked to sanctioned Russian officials and oligarchs. Bloomberg reports this.

The wallet holds cryptocurrency assets worth millions of dollars, said co-founder Tom Robinson.

"Crypto assets can be used to evade sanctions. It is a question of scale. It is unlikely that oligarchs will be able to transfer all their wealth into digital currencies. They are traceable. Cryptocurrencies can and will be used to circumvent restrictions, but they are not a panacea," he noted.

As part of supporting authorities’ efforts to enforce sanctions against Russia, the Elliptic team undertook the following actions:

• identified more than 400 virtual-asset service providers (mostly exchanges) where cryptocurrencies can be bought for rubles (Robinson said that turnover on these platforms over the week had tripled);
• linked more than 15 million crypto addresses to illicit activity by Russian entities;
• identified several hundred thousand crypto wallets linked to sanctioned individuals and entities.

We’re working to ensure that crypto won’t be exploited for sanctions evasion, and that those responsible for enabling the brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine cannot use cryptoassets to hide any of their wealth https://t.co/jD7TCq1Cvy

— elliptic (@elliptic) March 14, 2022

"Overall, the level of sanctions compliance among crypto-industry participants is very high," Robinson stressed.

Elliptic also warned of the risk that Russia could evade the sanctions regime through mining and cybercrime.