OFAC Sanctions 7 New Bitcoin Addresses

Allegedly Associated With Iran-Related Ransomware Activities

The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) of the Treasury has released an updated list of specially designated nationals (SDNs) that includes a number of people who have been implicated in Iran-related ransomware. Seven additional bitcoin addresses that are purportedly linked to the Iranian ransomware ring are listed on the list.

Following the Tornado Cash Ban, Iran Updates the SDN List with 7 New Bitcoin Addresses

On September 14, 2022, OFAC announced a fresh SDN List update in response to the Treasury Office's watchdog OFAC banning the ethereum mixer Tornado Cash. The SDN List update includes ten people and two particular firms who are charged with taking part in and funding Iranian-based ransomware activities.

OFAC has already charged North Korean syndicates with involvement in ransomware operations, including the notorious Lazarus Group. In addition to engaging in unauthorised computer access, data exfiltration, and other malicious cyber activities, this IRGC-affiliated group is known to exploit software vulnerabilities to carry out their ransomware activities, according to an announcement made by OFAC on Wednesday regarding the SDN List.

Around seven BTC addresses are provided in addition to the ten people and the two businesses specified. Some of the OFAC report's listed addresses have never received a single BTC deposit. This address, which supposedly belongs to an Iranian called Ahmad Khatibi Aghada, as well as other addresses that have received BTC, once contained 0.2931 BTC.

There have been other updates over the past two weeks that identify cyber- and Iran-related designations in addition to the SDN update from September 14. On September 2 and September 8 and 9, 2022, respectively, OFAC released updates to two "Iran-related designations" and cyber-related designations. The sole "Iran-related designations" update with newly added BTC addresses is the one that was released on Wednesday.