According to Chainalysis, the largest crypto-related sanctions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2022 significantly reduced the potential revenue of criminal enterprises, as reported by Cryptoslate.
According to Cryptoslate, the United States imposed sanctions on several crypto-related people and organisations last year for their roles in drug trafficking, money laundering, and ransomware attacks. Chainalysis looked at how the sanctions affected three significant criminal enterprises: the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, the darknet market Hydra, and the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado cash.
Cryptoslate further noted that Chainalysis discovered that 20 cybercriminal administrators who used the aforementioned services lost $14.99 million in potential revenue in the 60 days after the sanctions designation. Addresses associated with people who have connections to cybercrime organisations are referred to by cybercriminal administrators.
In addition, according to Chainalysis’ estimate, 42 entities dealing with stolen cryptocurrency may have lost $1.8 million in the two months following the sanctioning of the services under investigation, Cryptoslate further informed.
Furthermore, over $306,000 and about $271,000 may have been lost by 11 entities with darknet links and 23 entities connected to scams. According to Chainalysis estimates, 10 fraud shops and 6 ransomware-related entities each lost another $52,227 and $57,727, Cryptoslate further noted.
(With insights from Cryptoslate)