The United states Department of the Treasury has announced it volition impose sanctions on the cryptocurrency exchange Chatex and its support network for allegedly facilitating transactions for ransomware actors.

In an advisory update issued on Mon, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Chatex also every bit Izibits OU, Chatextech SIA and Hightrade Finance to its list of entities sanctioned by the U.S. regime. The department claimed Chatex has "straight ties" with Czech Republic- and Russian federation-based business Suex OTC, which it sanctioned in September.

Co-ordinate to OFAC, Chatex has helped facilitate transactions for ransomware groups, with more than half of the substitution's transactions "traced to illicit or loftier-risk activities such equally darknet markets, high-take chances exchanges, and ransomware." The addition of the commutation to the sanctions list follows Latvian and Estonian regime suspending Chatextech's operations and revoking Izibits OU's license, respectively.

"Unprincipled virtual currency exchanges like Chatex are critical to the profitability of ransomware activities, specially by laundering and cashing out the proceeds for criminals," said the department. "Treasury will go on to use all available regime to disrupt malicious cyber actors, block sick-gotten criminal proceeds, and deter boosted actions against the American people."

In the same annunciation, OFAC alleged Ukrainian national Yaroslav Vasinskyi and Russian national Yevgeniy Polyanin had been role of ransomware attacks confronting multiple U.Southward. government entities besides as many in the individual sector. Equally office of the Treasury Department's actions, U.S. residents are prohibited from engaging in transactions with Vasinskyi, Polyanin, Chatex, and all associated entities, or they may face enforcement action or sanctions themselves.

The Country Section announced it would be offering a $10-million reward for data leading to the location of anyone in a "key leadership position" in the Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware group. In addition, it would offer a $five-million reward leading to the arrest or confidence of anyone attempting to initiate a major ransomware attack.

Related: Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war confronting ransomware

During a press conference on Mon, U.S. Attorney Full general Merrick Garland said the Justice Department had indicted Vasinskyi in August for his declared role in hacking personal computers as well as conspiring to commit money laundering by enervating payment for the ransomware attacks. According to the Attorney Full general, Polish authorities arrested Vasinskyi in Oct, and he is awaiting extradition to the Us. In addition, the Justice Department announced a like indictment against Polyanin, having seized $6.1 million in crypto from 3,000 ransomware attacks for which he was allegedly responsible.

"For the 2d time in five months, we appear the seizure of digital proceeds of ransomware deployed by a transnational criminal grouping," said Garland. "This will not be the last time — the U.Southward. regime volition continue to aggressively pursue the entire ransomware ecosystem and increase our nation's resilience to cyber threats."

Nether President Joe Biden, combating ransomware attacks on critical U.Due south. infrastructure has been a major event. In June, a government job force seized more than $ii million in crypto used to pay for ransom post-obit an assail on the Colonial Pipeline arrangement.