A man from Yakutia, Russia, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) through cryptocurrency transfers.
According to Russian media outlet Izvestia, the individual, whose identity remains undisclosed, is a resident of the Sakha Republic and employed at a diamond mining company. He was arrested after an investigation by the Federal Security Service (FSB), which found that he had joined an online group linking him to Ukrainian military members. It was through this group that he was instructed on how to use cryptocurrency wallets to send funds to the Ukrainian Army, which the Russian government has classified as a “terrorist organization.”
The man was charged under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code, which relates to high treason for providing financial support to foreign states or organizations deemed hostile to Russia’s security.
Notably, this case is the first publicly disclosed legal action in Russia involving cryptocurrency used to finance a foreign military opposing the Russian state
Izvestia reported that another individual was detained by the FSB in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a contested jurisdiction between both warring nations. The individual was also accused of supporting the Ukrainian military with funds.
Meanwhile, this case comes on the heels of a U.S. federal grand jury indictment of three Russian nationals—Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachslavovich Tarasov—accused of operating cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io.
The U.S. government claims these platforms facilitated money laundering for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and hackers linked to state-sponsored organizations. U.S. officials have highlighted the role of these platforms in obscuring the origins of stolen cryptocurrencies, posing significant risks to public safety and national security.
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