The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against several Chinese cryptocurrency wallets allegedly linked to malicious actors engaged in illegal drug trade activities. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named seven wallets in the action and warned that doing business with them could result in penalties. According to the statement, the targeted wallets provided “financial services” to networks of drug dealers on the dark web related to fentanyl and other opioids. The wallets and their associated networks also reportedly ran money laundering and fraud operations connected to the illegal drug trade. The US Treasury Department also warned that the networks of cryptocurrency wallets are connected to transnational criminal organizations based in North Korea, Iran, and Russia. In the past, OFAC has designated persons and entities linked with transnational criminal organizations.
