Dec 4, 2024 · At the end of 2023, the United States government hit Zhdanova with economic sanctions for her alleged role in a crypto money-laundering operation used by Russian oligarchs, ransomware gangs, and...

On November 3, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova for using cryptocurrency to launder money on behalf of Russian elites, ransomware groups, and other bad actors.

Dec 4, 2024 · Zhdanova was sanctioned by the US last year and is currently in custody in France. The NCA cited another instance where Smart and Zhdanova collaborated with TGR to move more than £2mn for a...

Dec 4, 2024 · Ekaterina Zhdanova, the head of a Moscow-based cryptocurrency network called Smart, has been identified as being at the heart of the operation. She was previously sanctioned by US authorities...

4 days ago · Police, meanwhile, seized more than £20million in cash and Bitcoin in their crackdown on two Russian moneylaund­ering operations. One was run by Siberian-born Zhdanova, 38, who is said to have taken a commission of three per cent on transactio­ns worth billions via her Smart network.

Dec 4, 2024 · One of the major players, allegedly, is Ekaterina Zhdanova - dubbed the ‘Cash for Crypto Queen’ - who was sanctioned by the US last November and is currently in French custody awaiting a...

Nov 3, 2023 · WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Ekaterina Zhdanova, a Russian national, for her role in laundering and moving funds using virtual currency on behalf of Russian elites.

Dec 6, 2024 · Ekaterina Zhdanova orchestrates intricate money-laundering schemes that enable ransomware operations to thrive. She played a pivotal role in laundering $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom payments for a RYUK ransomware affiliate, supporting high-profile attacks targeting various global sectors.

Dec 4, 2024 · Smart was run by Ekaterina Zhdanova, a Russian national said to have been born in Siberia before making it in the financial industry and building up connections in Moscow. She has been arrested in France, and had already been sanctioned by the US last year.

Dec 7, 2024 · Steering through the murky waters of cryptocurrency, Ekaterina Zhdanova emerges as a key player in the Russian money laundering landscape. Sanctioned by the OFAC, she's known for laundering virtual currency for Russian elites and cybercriminals. In 2021, she laundered over $2.3 million in payments linked to a Ryuk ransomware affiliate.