White House blacklists Russian ransomware payment ‘enabler’

By ERIC TUCKER and FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is trying to choke the finances of criminal ransomware gangs by sanctioning a Russia-based virtual currency brokerage it says has been used by at least eight ransomware gangs to launder criminal proceeds. The Treasury Department sanctions aim to disrupt the economic infrastructure of a ransomware threat that continues to surge, with ransomware payments reaching more than $400 million in 2020.  The targeted brokerage, SUEX OTC, is a so-called “nested exchange” that conducted transactions on major, legal global cryptocurrency exchanges to tap into their liquidity. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo says the goal is to go after the “financial enablers” of ransomware gangs.