OFAC Sanctions Virtual Currency Exchange, Updates Guidance
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a large virtual currency exchange for helping to facilitate transactions related to illegal ransomware attacks, and updated an advisory on the risks associated with facilitating ransomware payments. The Sept. 21 designation targets SUEX OTC, S.R.O., which has processed transactions involving illegal proceeds from at least eight ransomware variants, OFAC said. The agency said that more than 40% of SUEX’s “known transaction history is associated with illicit actors.”
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The updated advisory, originally issued last year (see 2010010018), said that the agency will credit cooperation with OFAC and law enforcement when assessing penalties for violations and will “consider a company’s self-initiated and complete report of a ransomware attack” to be a “voluntary self-disclosure and a significant mitigating factor.” OFAC said 2019 to 2020 saw a nearly 21% increase in reported ransomware cases and a 225% increase “in associated losses.”