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The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has noted Iran's threats to shipping and its demands for "tolls" to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. These demands may include various payment methods, such as fiat currency, digital assets, offset arrangements, informal swaps, or other physical forms of payment, such as nominal charitable donations to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the Bonyad Mostazafan Foundation, or accounts of Iranian embassies.OFAC issued this warning to remind U.S. and non-U.S. entities that making payments to the Iranian regime or seeking passage guarantees carries sanctions risks, regardless of the payment method. Under U.S. sanctions regulations, U.S. entities and their foreign entities that are owned or controlled are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with the Iranian government, including providing or receiving services, unless exempted or authorized. Additionally, U.S. entities are also prohibited from engaging in transactions with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is listed on multiple sanctions lists and designated as a foreign terrorist organization.U.S. entities are also generally prohibited from trading with Iranian digital asset trading platforms, which are considered sanctioned Iranian financial institutions. Furthermore, non-U.S. entities that engage in unauthorized transactions with the Iranian government or IRGC may also face sanctions risks, including "secondary sanctions" on relevant financial institutions, restricting their access to the U.S. financial system. Conducting business with sanctioned Iranian digital asset trading platforms may also be viewed as supporting Iran's sanctioned financial system and could lead to sanctions. If relevant transactions result in U.S. entities (such as insurance companies, reinsurance firms, or financial institutions) violating sanctions regulations, non-U.S. entities may also face civil or criminal liability.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Cambodian Senator Kok An, accusing him of controlling "fraud parks" across the country, defrauding American victims through cryptocurrency investment scams.According to a statement released by OFAC on Thursday, in addition to Kok An, 28 other individuals and entities have been added to the sanctions list, all believed to be connected to his fraud network. This network is accused of luring victims into sending cryptocurrency assets under the guise of "high return investments." This action follows a raid by Cambodian police on two scam centers in the border city of Poipet. Previously, Kok An had been accused of operating scam bases in the area. OFAC stated that scammers typically gain victims' trust by establishing "friendships" or "romantic relationships," then guide them to participate in so-called cryptocurrency investment platforms, thereby defrauding them of funds, with the total amount involved reaching millions of dollars.It is noteworthy that some individuals involved in the scam activities are themselves victims of human trafficking, forced to engage in illegal activities under threats of violence. OFAC pointed out that these scam centers are often located in casinos or repurposed office parks, used not only for money laundering but also as bases for defrauding American citizens and committing human rights violations. Additionally, regulators have simultaneously shut down over 500 fraudulent website domains used for cryptocurrency investment scams, indicating that the U.S. crackdown on related criminal activities is intensifying.

Alex Thorn, the research director at Galaxy Digital, posted on the X platform that the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list (SDN list) has historically involved 518 Bitcoin addresses, which have received a total of 249,814 BTC and sent 239,708 BTC, currently holding a net of about 9,306 BTC, worth approximately $707 million at current market prices.Thorn also stated that OFAC sanctions are only one of the means by which the U.S. intercepts illegal assets, and the CLARITY Act will further expand the Treasury's relevant powers.

According to CoinDesk, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will jointly issue proposed rules requiring stablecoin issuers to establish a comprehensive anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance system. Specific measures include freezing, intercepting, and rejecting suspicious transactions, as well as complying with the relevant provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act.The rules emphasize an outcome-oriented approach, believing that financial institutions understand their own risks best. Issuers that establish a sound compliance system are typically exempt from enforcement actions. This move aims to implement the GENIUS Act passed last year, which is expected to take full effect in 2027.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against 6 individuals and 2 entities, accusing them of participating in a fraud scheme orchestrated by North Korea involving IT workers, with proceeds used to fund North Korean weapons programs.The sanctioned entities include the North Korean company Amnokgang Technology Development Company and the Vietnamese company Quangvietdnbg International Services Company Limited, whose CEO Nguyen Quang Viet is accused of laundering $2.5 million for the network through cryptocurrency. Do Phi Khanh, Hoang Van Nguyen, Yun Song Guk, Hoang Minh Quang, and York Louis Celestino Herrera are also sanctioned for their alleged involvement in the network. The fraud network operates in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Spain.The sanctions freeze all assets of the aforementioned individuals and entities in the U.S. and prohibit them from engaging in any financial transactions or business dealings with the United States. OFAC will also add 21 cryptocurrency addresses on the Ethereum and Tron networks to the sanctions list. Chainalysis stated that the North Korean IT worker fraud scheme relies on stolen identities and fabricated identity information to secure positions in global companies and may implant malware in company networks to steal sensitive information.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two Iranian individuals and several companies based in Hong Kong and the UAE.These individuals and companies are accused of transferring over $100 million in illegal oil sale proceeds through cryptocurrency since 2023, with funds flowing to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and the Ministry of Defense Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).These sanctions are part of the U.S. efforts to combat Iran's "shadow banking" system, which launders money through shell companies and cryptocurrency exchanges. Israel has also previously sanctioned 187 cryptocurrency wallets associated with the IRGC.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York ruled to prohibit discussing the history of OFAC sanctions against the privacy tool Tornado Cash in the upcoming trial of developer Roman Storm. The judge stated that explaining the sanctions process, which was implemented in 2022, revoked in March 2023, and deemed illegal by a Texas court, would create "cognitive dissonance," but left open the possibility for reconsideration if key evidence arises.

ChainCatcher news, Bitget Onchain trading has launched the MEME tokens Z, noface, and Crocs in the Solana and BNB Smart Chain ecosystems. Users can start trading in the on-chain trading section.Bitget Onchain trading aims to seamlessly connect CEX and DEX, providing users with a more convenient, efficient, and secure on-chain trading experience. Users can directly use their Bitget spot accounts (USDT/USDC) to trade popular on-chain assets. Currently, it supports popular public chains such as Solana (SOL), BNB Smart Chain (BSC), and Base.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has made a final ruling, determining that the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) acted unlawfully in sanctioning Tornado Cash, permanently prohibiting it from imposing sanctions on the mixer. This marks the conclusion of a two-year legal dispute with a victory for the privacy protocol party.Court documents show that although OFAC voluntarily removed Tornado Cash from the sanctions list in March 2024, Judge Robert Pitman noted its intention to potentially reimpose sanctions in the future and emphasized that "the ruling of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals must be enforced." The six plaintiff attorneys in the case had accused OFAC of attempting to evade judicial review through technical maneuvers.It is worth noting that two developers of Tornado Cash, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, still face criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice, which remains on the OFAC sanctions list. The ruling only pertains to the protocol itself and does not involve judicial proceedings against the developers.

ChainCatcher news, according to the update announcement of the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on March 21, several Ethereum addresses related to Tornado Cash have been removed from the sanctions list.This update specifically mentions the Tornado Cash website and several Ethereum wallet addresses associated with it, including:0x12D66f87A04A9E220743712cE6d9bB1B5616B8Fc0x47CE0C6eD5B0Ce3d3A51fdb1C52DC66a7c3c29360x910Cbd523D972eb0a6f4cAe4618aD62622b39DbF0xA160cdAB225685dA1d56aa342Ad8841c3b53f2910xD4B88Df4D29F5CedD6857912842cff3b20C8CfaTornado Cash is a mixing protocol on Ethereum that allows users to conduct transactions anonymously. It was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for allegedly providing a money laundering channel for illegal activities, such as those associated with North Korean hackers.

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's ruling, determining that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded its authority in sanctioning the Tornado Cash immutable smart contracts, marking a significant victory for the protocol and its users. The panel of three judges noted in their opinion that while the Treasury has the authority to act against "property," the immutable nature of Tornado Cash's smart contracts means they cannot be controlled or owned, and therefore do not constitute property under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated that these smart contracts must now be removed from the sanctions list, allowing U.S. users to once again utilize this privacy-preserving protocol. The appellate court has instructed the Texas District Court to approve the partial summary judgment motion filed by plaintiffs-appellants Joseph Van Loon and others.

ChainCatcher news, the criminal gang "Tren De Aragua" from Venezuela has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a transnational organization engaged in illegal activities such as kidnapping, human trafficking, and extortion. The U.S. Treasury also stated that the organization has, to some extent, utilized cryptocurrency to launder its criminal activities.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 13 entities and two individuals on Monday for facilitating Russian nationals in evading sanctions by establishing services related to cryptocurrency.OFAC stated in a press release that many of the individuals and entities sanctioned on Monday facilitated transactions or provided services to help other designated entities evade sanctions. The statement emphasized that the Treasury will continue to expose and disrupt those companies attempting to assist sanctioned Russian financial institutions in reconnecting with the global financial system.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named two Russians, Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, who were indicted for deploying ransomware in a statement, and identified 10 Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses that have been added to the U.S. Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, prohibiting U.S. entities from providing any form of financial services to these two individuals. OFAC stated that the two are members of the LockBit ransomware group, which is one of the world's most prolific ransomware distributors, accused of stealing over $120 million from more than 2,000 victims over the past few years.Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice, Europol, the UK's National Crime Agency, and agencies from several other countries seized LockBit's website and various web pages in an international operation. Law enforcement announced that they would distribute decryption keys to victims, enabling them to regain access to their devices.

ChainCatcher news, Orrick law firm partner Ben Hutten stated that U.S. regulators have been paying attention to cryptocurrencies, and even though miners are not currently the focus, they have reason to remain cautious. If miners provide services to individuals on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list, OFAC may view this as substantial support for sanctioned individuals, which could serve as a basis for imposing sanctions on service providers.CoinShares Bitcoin research director Christopher Bendiksen also agreed with this view, stating that he believes some miners will eventually start reviewing transactions related to addresses on the OFAC list, "this will become a cost of doing business in the West."

ChainCatcher news, CoinList has agreed to pay $1,207,830 to settle potential civil liabilities arising from 989 transactions processed for permanent residents of Crimea between April 2020 and May 2022. These transactions are reported to have violated the Russian/Ukrainian sanctions regulations of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). CoinList engaged in 989 apparent violations of the Ukraine/Russia-related sanctions regulations, involving approximately $1,252,280, from April 19, 2020, to May 7, 2022. OFAC determined that these violations were not voluntarily disclosed but were also not willful. According to OFAC's economic sanctions enforcement guidelines, the final settlement amount is $1,207,830.CoinList was founded in 2017 as a money services business, primarily serving as an intermediary for users to buy, sell, and convert various cryptocurrencies. When users open CLM accounts and digital wallets, they are required to provide certain Know Your Customer (KYC) information, such as country of residence, address, date of birth, phone number, selfie, and a government-issued identification photo. However, CoinList's screening procedures failed to identify users who claimed to reside in non-sanctioned countries but actually provided a Crimea address.

According to ChainCatcher news, Tether, the stablecoin issuer, froze 41 wallets controlled by individuals on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Saturday, as reported by CoinDesk. On-chain data shows that several wallets have been using the Tornado Cash service over the past six months. One of the frozen wallets is also linked to the $625 million Ronin Bridge attack.Tether stated that any existing wallets on the OFAC list and any new wallets added in the future will be frozen together.