On December 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five individuals and four entities with ties to the TGR Group, an international network that has allegedly helped Russian elites evade U.S. sanctions. OFAC also identified a fifth entity, which is based in Wyoming, that was blocked for being owned 50 percent or more by a newly-sanctioned individual. According to OFAC, these designations were issued in furtherance of G7 commitment to address and limit the evasion of international sanctions by illicit actors and their use of digital assets, in particular, to enhance and transfer wealth. This action was reportedly made possible by a collaborative effort with the UK’s National Crime Agency and the United Arab Emirates government.
According to Bradley Smith, the Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, the TGR Group helped Russian elites evade U.S. sanctions in order to exploit digital assets and, in particular, U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins. The designees include key members of the TGR Group, including Ukrainian national George Rossi who is believed to control the group; his direct subordinate, Elena Chirkinyan, who is considered to be a decision maker within the group; and Andrejs Bradens, who is associated with multiple TGR Group companies and owns the newly-designated Wyoming-based Pullman Global Solutions LLC. Two other designees were sanctioned for their affiliation with Ekaterina Zhadanova, an Russia national who was designated in November 2023 for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in virtual currency on behalf of sanctioned Russian elites.
The new designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 14024, as amended, for operating in the financial services sector of the Russian economy. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.