US DOJ Accuses Some Russian-Venezuelan Networks of Money Laundering Through Crypto to Avoid Financial Restrictions.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) accused two Venezuelan citizens and five Russians on October 19 of utilizing cryptocurrencies to steal money for Russian oligarchs by selling oil barrels from sanctions-hit Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

According to the press release, the accused trafficked millions of oil barrels to Russia and China, stealing “tens of millions of dollars” through different proxies and techniques, one of which is crypto transactions.

Orekhov, Artem Uss (son of the governor of the Russian region of Krasnoyarsk Krai), Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Timofey Telegin, and Sergey Tulyakov are the Russians that were accused of the crime.

U.S. authorities also accused Venezuelans Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce, also known as “Juanfe Serrano” and Juan Carlos Soto, as intermediaries with Venezuelan state-owned company “Petroleos de Venezuela SA.” (PDVSA of perpetrating the theft.