Copper Innovations, a crypto company based in the UK, is said to have sent computer resources worth more than $4.2 million to a wallet linked to a Russian arms dealer. So, the person had to deal with US penalties months after the fact.
The Watchman said that these conversations took place with Russian citizen Jonatan Zimenkov, who is 29 years old, in May 2021. He was backed by the US in February 2023 because he was said to have helped the Russian military attack Ukraine as part of the “Zimenkov organization.” His dad, Igor Zimenkov, was in charge of this group.
At the time of the trade, Zimenkov did not face any authorizations. Instead, they were made to happen to him 19 months after the fact. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the US Depository showed that it believed the group, which included Zimenkov, had been working for a long time before the load of limits.
Copper didn’t answer Cryptonews’ request for comment by the time this story went to press.
Blockchain records show that Copper sent more than 1,700 Ethereum units to Zimenkov. These units were worth more than $4.2 million in May 2021. At about the same time, these trades were handled by two companies, as shown by an Ether scan.
Copper Move to Zimenkov Has No Clear Goals.
OFAC says that the Zimenkov network took part in a number of activities, such as deals related to Russian online security and deals involving helicopters in other countries. Also, attempts were made to send weapons to an African country.
It was known as a trait of a “sanctions avoidance organization” that had been around for a long time. US experts said that Zimenkov’s dad was in charge of this network that managed weapons.
While the trade was going on, Copper did not do anything wrong or break any rules or agreements.
The point of the conversation is still not clear. Blockchain records only show the person who received the Ethereum payments and not their name. They only show their computerized cash address, which is a string of letters and numbers. Despite this, this address was later mentioned in a US Depository statement in February 2023, which showed that the Zimenkov group was being punished.
The US is focusing its approvals on Russian substances.
After the attack on Ukraine, the US put sanctions on Russians to stop Russia’s military actions and punish substances that helped Russia get weapons or helped kill Ukrainian children in their homes.
Some of these powers were to freeze foreign bank accounts, stop the sending of new technologies, keep billionaires’ boats, and have an effect on Russia’s oil business.
Also, the US put sanctions on a Russian crypto mining group to stop Moscow from getting around the permissions it already had because of the invasion of Ukraine.