Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and its private sector partners want to lend a hand to Ukrainian authorities looking to hinder Russian actors using cryptocurrencies to skirt sanctions—something European authorities have already tried to address.
Today the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis kicked off an advanced, in-person blockchain analysis training in Frankfurt, Germany for Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.
IRS-CI Chief Jim Lee told Decrypt and other media outlets on a call Thursday morning that he wants to “highlight the importance of partnerships (whether private-public or public-public) and how they are critical to doing business”, adding that they are “key to unraveling complex financial transactions.”
Pro-Russian Paramilitary Groups Raised $400,000 in Bitcoin, Crypto to Avoid Sanctions: TRM Labs
Pro-Russian groups are conducting crowdfunding campaigns, raising a significant amount in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to evade U.S. sanctions and support paramilitary operations in war-torn Ukraine, according to research by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. “As of last week, we identified about $400,000 that have been raised since the beginning of the invasion in February,” Chris Janczewski, head of global investigations at TRM Labs, said in an interview with CNBC. One of those group...
Twenty Ukranian investigators from three different law enforcement agencies—the National Police, Economic Security Bureau, and the Department of Cyber and Information Security of the Security Service—are participating in the training to learn how to analyze blockchain data, trace cryptocurrency transactions, and develop operational leads.
“This is a step forward in building trust among different agencies and private sector companies. The more successful everyone will be if the public sector allocates the necessary resources” said Michael Gronager, co-founder and CEO of blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, the lead private sector partner.
The IRS-CI donated 15 Chainalysis Reactor licenses to Ukrainian authorities for the training.
“It is important for us to identify all Russian assets on the territory of Ukraine. We resist the aggressor state not only on the battlefield, but also on the economic front”, said Eduard Fedorov, acting director of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in a press release.
According to governmental and private entities, cryptocurrencies are playing both good and bad roles in the conflict.
On one hand, pro-Russian groups are soliciting donations in crypto, with over 100 different groups receiving $5 million over the past year, although this number has been dropping in recent months.
Ukraine Has Received Over $50 Million in Crypto Donations
The Ukrainian crypto crowdfunding effort has now reached $50.9 million, per figures published by blockchain analytics platform Elliptic. “The Ukrainian government—and an NGO providing support to the military—have raised $50.9 million, through more than 89,000 crypto asset donations since the start of the Russian invasion,” Elliptic wrote in a blog post. Ukraine’s crypto crowdfunding push began on February 26, 2022, when the Ukrainian government’s official Twitter account announced it was “now...
Meanwhile, crypto assets have also been used for good, whether that is direct aid in the war effort or for humanitarian needs. Organizations and individuals in Ukraine have received more than $50 million dollars worth.
Authorities noted on the call that the majority of the transactions–both good and bad–are mostly done in Bitcoin and stablecoins, with the latter seeing a significant uptick over the recent months.
