The U.S. Treasury Department is warning financial institutions and cryptocurrency firms to be on the lookout for attempts to evade sanctions and other restrictions imposed as a result of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an anti-money-laundering agency within the Treasury, issued an alert Monday that includes red flags to help financial institutions identify potential sanctions-evasion efforts and to remind them to quickly report any suspicious activities. The U.S. and its allies have imposed economic sanctions and trade restrictions on Russia and Belarus in recent weeks, including blacklisting key Russian state-owned banks and prohibiting transactions with some Russian government entities, including the Russian Central Bank. FinCEN said that sanctioned Russian and Belarusian entities and individuals may try to evade sanctions in various ways, including through non-sanctioned Russian and Belarusian banks and financial institutions in third countries. Some indicators of possible sanctions-evasion activity include the use of shell companies to obscure the ownership of entities or funds or to make international wire transfers.
