US accuses Russian-Venezuelan group of using crypto to smuggle oil and military equipment

The United States declared the Elimination of a Russian-Venezuelan network that operated using Tether (USDT) outside of the authorized financial system and circumvented international sanctions. 

In March this year, as reported by TheCoinRise, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that his government and its allies would impose sanctions on five major Russian banks. Moreover, the European Commission has also intensified its sanctions on the country for its aggressive attitude towards Ukraine.

According to the recent reports, five Russian and two Venezuelan citizens have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for operating a global network of money laundering, smuggling, and trade with blacklisted businesses, specifically the Venezuelan state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). 

12 charges on Russian citizens

In accordance with a press release, 12 charges have been brought against Russian citizens Yury Orekhov, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Artem Uss (son of the Krasnoyarsk Krai governor), Sergey Tulyakov, and Timofey Telegin as well as Venezuelan citizens Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce, famously called “Juanfe Serrano,” and Juan Carlos Soto, who served as mediators with the Venezuelan state-owned corporation “Petroleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA),”.

Both Orekhov and Uss were detained on October 17, 2022, at the request of the United States; they will now be subjected to extradition procedures. The announcement claims that the defendants used various proxies and money-laundering strategies, including cryptocurrency transactions, to launder “tens of millions of dollars” while smuggling millions of barrels of oil into Russia and China.

Between PDVSA and NDA GmbH, Serrano Ponce and Soto allegedly arranged transactions worth millions of dollars, which were concealed by passing the transactions through a convoluted network of shell companies and bank accounts.

The Block being the source stated that Orekhov allegedly said to a companion: “No worries, no stress. As soon as we start berthing, we will immediately transfer. USDT works quick like SMS.”

The National Security and Cybercrime Section of the Office is in charge of the investigation and Artie McConnell, an assistant US attorney, is in charge of the prosecution. A combined effort involving Italian, German, and American law enforcement agencies resulted to the arrests and charges on alleged Russian and Venezuelan criminals.