- Zhdanova used fake accounts and currency exchanges to launder $2.3 million
- She helped Russian oligarchs evade economic sanctions
The US government has sanctioned Ekaterina Zhdanova, 37, for laundering more than $2.3 million in victim ransom payments on behalf of Russian oligarchs and other elites connected to the infamous Ryuk ransomware group, TechCrunch reported.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Zhdanova used fake accounts and currency exchanges to launder the funds. She helped her wealthy “customers” evade economic sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in February last year.
Ryuk inflicted damages of $67M on US UHS
The ransomware group became a major risk factor about five years ago, when it began attacking the US public sector. During the pandemic, it attacked US healthcare giant Universal Health Services, inflicting damages of at least $67 million.
Allegedly, Zhdanova began laundering the funds for a Ryuk ransomware affiliate two years ago. She moved the money through illicit cryptocurrency exchanges like the Russian Garantex, which was sanctioned by the US in 2022.
She also used traditional firms
Zhdanova maintained access to the global finance system via traditional businesses such as a luxury watch company with offices worldwide, according to OFAC. According to data from Chainalysis, Zhdanova is currently selling a hotel in Moscow that generates profit equivalent to $11,000 a month. The hotel might not be connected to her money laundering activity.
Helping Russian oligarchs worldwide
Zhdanova has also allegedly been helping oligarchs who fled Russia conduct digital currency exchange transfers. Many wealthy Russians moved funds abroad to evade sanctions when the war in Ukraine started. OFAC reports that a Russian oligarch contracted her to move over $100 million to the United Arab Emirates. She has assisted people in obtaining tax residency in the UAE and bank accounts and ID cards in Dubai.
In February this year, the US and UK governments sanctioned a number of people with purported links to a network behind Ryuk. This happened days after Russian national Denis Dubnikov pled guilty in a US court to laundering Ryuk ransomware funds following his extradition from the Netherlands.
