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Pro-Russian Groups have Received $2.2M in Crypto Donations, Circumventing Sanctions
Summary: Pro-Russian military groups in Ukraine have received $2.2 million in crypto donations since the start of the war, with one explicitly stating it’s using crypto to evade sanctions, according to The Block. Chainanalysis has identified 54 Pro-Russian organizations that have collectively received six different cryptocurrencies to help fund their operations. The data shows the groups ...
Pro-Russian military groups in Ukraine have received $2.2 million in crypto donations since the start of the war, with one explicitly stating it’s using crypto to evade sanctions, according to The Block.
Chainanalysis has identified 54 Pro-Russian organizations that have collectively received six different cryptocurrencies to help fund their operations. The data shows the groups have been donated $1.45 million in BTC, more than $590,000 in ETH, $206,822 in USDT-TRX, $21,174 in LTC and $2,363 in DOGE to equip paramilitary groups and spread propaganda on social media.
According to the report, half of the identified accounts have publicly solicited support for militias in the Donbas region of Ukraine, one of the contested areas that has been subject to sanctions from the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).
In addition to paramilitary groups seeking funds, other sanctioned entities have advised using crypto to donate to pro-Russian forces, Chainanalysis noted. Alexander Zhuchkovsky, sanctioned for his affiliation with a terrorist group known as Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), has boasted of the ability to donate to the RIM through crypto.
Project Terricon, an organization supporting Donbas militia groups, has been using crypto to avoid international sanctions, which were confirmed by on-chain analytics. The pro-Russian group has received 11% of its funds from mixers and is sending 29% of its funds through a Russian exchange tied to crypto money laundering.
While the $2.2 million pro-Russian groups have received is noteworthy, it pales in comparison to the tens of millions the Ukraine has received in crypto donations. In addition, Ukraine received 32 Bitcoins, Thursday, valued at roughly $1.5 million, according to a Bloomberg report.
Author: Tyler Irvin
Tags: Bitcoin,Crypto,Ether,Russia,Sanctions,Ukraine
Link: Pro-Russian Groups have Received $2.2M in Crypto Donations, Circumventing Sanctions [Copy]