The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned the most prominent Russian marketplace on the dark web and a cryptocurrency exchange known to be mainly operating in Moscow and St. Petersburg in a bid to foil Russian attempts to evade already imposed financial restrictions following the invasion of Ukraine.
"The global threat of cybercrime and ransomware that originates in Russia, and the ability of criminal leaders to operate there with impunity, is deeply concerning to the United States," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a press release.
The darknet market, Hydra, provides illicit services such as ransomware attacks and hacking. Launched in 2015, it is the largest darknet market left in the world, according to the Treasury Department.
The virtual currency exchange, Garantex, meanwhile, has allegedly been involved in transactions worth over $100 million with illicit actors including a Russian ransomware gang and Hydra.
The move came as Russia faces a range of economic sanctions from the United States and other countries in the West following its invasion, which started in February. Concerns linger that Russia could use virtual currencies to evade sanctions.
Darknets are internet-based networks that individuals use special software to access, with obscured identity and web activity. Marketplaces that reside on the darknet almost exclusively accept virtual currency as payment, according to the U.S. government.
The sanctions freeze the assets held by the designated entities within the United States and prohibit them from engaging in transactions with U.S. citizens.
The latest actions are part of efforts to further cut off avenues for potential sanctions evasion by Russia, the Treasury Department said.
As global condemnation grows over recent revelations of the killing of many civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha from which Russian troops have withdrawn, the White House said Tuesday it will announce an additional "sweeping package of sanctions measures" to impose further costs on Moscow, in coordination with the Group of Seven industrialized nations and the European Union.
It will include a ban on all new investment in Russia, increased sanctions on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises as well as on Russian government officials and their family members, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
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