Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova has been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury for her role in the laundering of millions of cryptocurrencies for a number of people, including ransomware perpetrators.

Zhdanova circumvented “Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism” (AML/CFT) regulations by sending money through a variety of sites, including Garantex (banned in April 2022 for supporting the Hydra Market), by utilizing her knowledge of cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks.

Zhdanova’s public enterprises have been further revealed in a research by Chainalisys, a blockchain analysis organization. These details may or may not be related to Zhdanova’s complex money laundering activities.

Zhdanova further concealed her financial operations and gained access to a more conventional clientele by using her links to a vast worldwide network of other money launderers, as noted by both OFAC and Chainalysis.