The United States punishes their first Bitcoin addresses

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (FOCA) of the US Treasury has taken action against two Iranian ransomware "facilitators". These actions include the publication of the cryptocurrency wallet addresses of the author, and the warning of the crypto-financial and financial communities that any transaction with the accused could be subject to the penalties.

Participation in SamSam Ransomware Attacks

OFAC stated that the two "Iran-based individuals" are Ali Khorashadizadeh and Mohammad Ghorbaniyan. According to a press release issued today by the US Treasury, they contributed to the exchange of Bitcoin ransoms, obtained by "Iranian malicious cyber-actors" involved in the SamSam ploy, in Iranian rial.

Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan are designated for:

Have provided material badistance, financial, material or technological support, or goods or services to SamSam ransomware attacks or in support thereof.

OFAC has identified and published the two portfolio addresses badociated with the "facilitators". The cryptocurrency wallet addresses processed between 6,000 and 7,000 bitcoins (BTC). 00 transactions on 40 cryptocurrency exchanges. Even at the current Bitcoin price, this would be worth more than $ 25 million.

The US Department of Justice has also indicted two players for having infected more than 200 networks with SamSam ransomware in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada since 2015. A hospital in Indiana lost all its computer networks during storms, causing them to pay ransom to protect patients.

The news quickly triggered a conversation on social media.

1 / RUPTURE: For the first time in history, the United States sanctioned a bitcoin address. https://t.co/5iFmXaaF8l

– Marco Santori (@msantoriESQ) November 28, 2018

1 / Today, the US Treasury Department, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has reached a historic milestone by adding two Bitcoin addresses to its list of sanctioned parties. In this thread, I will explain what it means.

– Marco Santori (@msantoriESQ) November 28, 2018

First publication of portfolio addresses

OFAC states that even though it usually shares "identifiers" with designated persons:

Today's action marks the first time that the OFAC publicly badigns digital money addresses to designated persons.

Operators who recognize or find published portfolio addresses are required to comply with OFAC obligations, whether transactions are made in fiat or digital currency:

Like traditional identifiers, these digital currency addresses should help compliance communities and digital currencies identify transactions and funds to be blocked and investigate any connections to those addresses.

All financial badets or "interests" of individuals are now subject to OFAC sanctions and to the "United States". it is generally forbidden for people to deal with them. "

Treasury and FOCA actions are now part of a broader set of US sanctions and "economic pressures" on Iran "designed to stem the wide range of evil activities of the Iranian regime and to coerce it. to change behavior ".

Under-Secretary of Treasury and Treasury Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker warns:

The Treasury will vigorously pursue Iran and other rogue regimes that attempt to exploit the digital currencies and the weaknesses of cyber-LAB and AML / CFT protections in order to pursue their harmful objectives.

What do you think of the new sanctions? Let us know in the comments below.

Images and media provided courtesy of Bitcoinist, Shutterstock, Twitter archives (@msantoriESQ).