US Government Sanctions Two Russian Nationals’ Crypto Wallets Related to Ransomeware Group LockBit

The US government is sanctioning the crypto wallets believed to belong to two Russian nationals linked to the ransomware group LockBit.

In a statement, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says that it has sanctioned several Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) wallets linked to the group.

According to a press release, the wallets of Ivan Gennadievich Kondratiev and Artur Sungatov will be blocked in the United States after LockBit attacked the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) U.S broker-dealer, impacting the settlement of billions of dollars worth of assets.

“OFAC’s investigation identified LockBit as responsible for the ransomware attack on ICBC, which occurred on November 9, 2023. The ransomware attack disrupted ICBC’s U.S. broker-dealer, affecting the settlement of over $9 billion worth of assets backed by Treasury securities.

The ransomware attack caused a blackout of ICBC’s computer systems, resulting in a loss of e-mail and communications. ICBC’s inability to access its systems caused securities to be delivered for settlement with no funds backing the trades.”

LockBit, which first appeared in 2019, employs the ransom-as-a-service model, where it licenses its malware out to cyber criminals who then give them a cut of the ransoms paid by victims, according to the press release.

“LockBit is known for its double extortion tactics, where its cybercriminals exfiltrate vast amounts of data from its victims before encrypting the victim’s computer systems and demanding ransom payments. LockBit was the most deployed ransomware variant globally in 2022 and remains prolific today.”

As stated by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, according to the press release,

“The United States will not tolerate attempts to extort and steal from our citizens and institutions. We will continue our whole-of-government approach to defend against malicious cyber activities, and will use all available tools to hold the actors that enable these threats accountable.” 

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