OFAC Sanctions 2 Russian Nationals for Cybertheft

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Russian nationals involved in the cybertheft of nearly $17 million, it said in a Sept. 16 news release. The designations target Danil Potekhin and Dmitrii Karasavidi for orchestrating a phishing campaign that targeted U.S. citizens and businesses through fake web domains that mimicked “legitimate virtual currency exchanges,” OFAC alleged. When people accessed the domains and entered their personal information, Potekhin and Karasavidi allegedly stole that information and accessed real virtual currency accounts. OFAC said Potekhin and Karasavidi are also the subjects of a Justice Department indictment.