Russian companies use cryptocurrency to buy sanctioned equipment – WSJ
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Russian companies are using the cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions when buying dual-use goods, including components for drones and other high-tech equipment.
About this writes The Wall Street Journal.
It is noted that the Russian smuggler Andriy Zverev used the Tether cryptocurrency token to pay for goods from China for the Kalashnikov concern.
The largest manufacturer of small arms in the Russian Federation thus purchased electronic parts for drones, which belong to dual-purpose goods subject to US and EU sanctions.
The publication explains that Tether has become one of the standard methods of payment on the black market in the world. Authorities have limited ability to track the use of digital currency in the world, unlike government-issued dollars in the banking system.
Accordingly, Zverev used Tether to transfer millions of dollars of Kalashnikov to an electronics distributor in Hong Kong. After that, he transported the goods through the countries of Central Asia to avoid customs control.
“Russia is increasingly turning to alternative payment mechanisms to circumvent US sanctions and continue to fund its war against Ukraine,” said Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson.
In addition, the Russian crypto exchange Garantex plays a key role in the process of bypassing sanctions, allowing users to convert rubles to Tether.
It added that the US Treasury Department is asking Congress to pass legislation that would allow it to block transactions in US dollar-denominated stablecoins like Tether.
Last week, the agency blacklisted a Moscow-based company that worked with a sanctioned Russian bank to make payments throughTether.
We will remind:
Russian crypto exchange Garantex even despite US sanctions moves money for criminal gangs, wealthy Russians and a terrorist group linked to Hamas.
Economic truth.
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