US state Prosecutors have claimed five Russian nationals laundered tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies for Russian oligarchs and sanctioned companies.

What happened: The defendants have been identified as Yuri Orechov, Artyom Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov. According to a press release from US Department of Justicethe defendants allegedly used shell companies and cryptocurrencies to launder the funds involved in this scheme.

See more: BEST CRYPTO SCREENER

“As alleged, the defendants were criminal accomplices to oligarchs who orchestrated a complex scheme to illegitimately obtain US military technology and Venezuela-sanctioned oil through a variety of transactions involving shell companies cryptocurrency. Their efforts have undermined security, economic stability and the rule of law around the world,” the US Attorney said Breon Peace. “We will continue to investigate, disrupt and prosecute those who are fueling Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, circumventing sanctions and perpetuating the informal economy of transnational money laundering.”

The accused allegedly used tether USDT/USD for illegal transactions acc Coindesk.

“Eradicating circumvention of export controls on military technology is among the task force’s top priorities, and today’s arrest reflects the power of those controls when enforced by a dedicated team of expert agents and dedicated foreign partners,” he said Andrew Adamsthe director of Task Force KleptoCapture.

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