U.S Treasury Ban Russian Money Linked To USDT

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned several individuals and entities involved in a money laundering network that transferred assets for Russian interests using tether (USDT) and other cryptocurrencies.

The news release claims that OFAC collaborated with the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom to interfere with this network. OFAC has sanctioned four organizations and five new individuals associated with the TGR Group money laundering network.

The TGR Group, purportedly run by George Rossi, a Ukrainian national, is said to offer services such as a pre-paid card service, cash-for-crypto exchange (and vice versa), and assistance in allowing “Russian nationals to purchase property in the United Kingdom.”.

Rossi “used OFAC-sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange, Garantex OU, to process USDT transactions after its date of designation,” the press release adds.

Processing a range of transactions from the Hydra dark market was one of Garantex’s alleged transgressions.

The purported money laundering network of TGR Group depended on numerous organizations worldwide, including those in Wyoming. Andrejs Bradens allegedly owns more than half of Pullman Global Solutions LLC. In addition to owning Pullman Global, Bradens, a Latvian national, is connected to other TGR Group companies, including TGR Corporate Concierge LTD. an organization with its headquarters in the UK.

Elena Chirkinyan, allegedly “a direct subordinate to Rossi,” is in charge of this organization, which is crucial to the network, according to the Treasury press release. In the past, Chirkinyan was accused of transferring money from Russia Today (RT); reportedly, this was done “likely to support the activities of a UK-sanctioned Russian-language media organization in the United Kingdom.”.

Chirkinyan also set up cash handovers, wherein USDT was transferred to a cryptocurrency address and the TGR group received cash in exchange. According to reports, Chirkinyan also worked for Russian citizens to buy real estate in the UK.

Olumide Adesina

Financial Market Writer

Olumide Adesina is a French-born Nigerian financial writer. He tracks, analyzes, and reports changes in financial markets with over 15 years of working experience in investment trading.