The US Fears Russia May Use Cryptos to Avoid Sanctions
The US Department of the Treasury and the White House has demanded that US companies not make life easier for Russian citizens and banks that were sanctioned by the US with the help of cryptocurrency transactions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) a division of the US Department of the Treasury, issued a document on March 1 according to which US residents cannot use digital currencies in the interests of the Russian government, including the country’s central bank, in an attempt to circumvent sanctions United States in response to the development of the Russian-Ukrainian military crisis.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the State Department’s actions aim to “significantly limit Russia’s ability to use assets to finance its destabilizing activities” and hurt Putin. The officials have explained the additional actions against Russian companies were authorized under Decree No. 14024, which allows the Treasury to impose sanctions based on “harmful foreign activities, including violations of well-established principles of international law.”
The US authorities have also called on the largest crypto exchanges to guarantee their trading platforms will not be used to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions.
