US federal prosecutors allege that 5 Russian citizens used Tether (USDT) as part of a plan to evade sanctions and smuggling.
In a press release by the US Adakat Bank (DOJ), 5 Russian citizens Evade sanctions on Venezuelan oil producers and international part of the smuggling scheme shell companies and USDT It was claimed that they were using the stablecoin. At the center of these allegations is a laundering activity worth millions of dollars. Two of the five defendants, Orekhov and Uss, were arrested on Monday, according to the press release.
US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace In his statement he made the following statements:
We believe the defendants are complicit in oligarchies, orchestrating a complex scheme to illegally acquire US military technology and Venezuelan-sanctioned oil through numerous transactions involving shell companies and cryptocurrencies.
US Department of Justice in March 2022 the KleptoCapture project He announced that the team will focus on economic sanctions against the oligarchs in response to the invasion of Russia. As part of the actions to be carried out in this framework, abuses with cryptocurrencies It will be one of the key focal points.