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Justice Department Will Prosecute Banks, Crypto Exchanges That Help Russians Hide Assets: Report
A new task force has been created to freeze or take the assets of Russians that have been sanctioned following the invasion of Ukraine.
By Nelson Wang
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:14 p.m. Published Mar 11, 2022, 7:19 p.m.
The U.S. Justice Department will investigate and prosecute people and financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, that aid Russians in hiding their assets from sanctions, according to a Bloomberg report, citing a senior department official.
- A new task force composed of prosecutors, agents, analysts and translators from across the Justice Department has been created to pursue these investigations, according to the official.
- The type of assets that might be frozen or seized include real estate, stock holdings, bank accounts, yachts, airplanes, jewelry and artwork, the official said.
- The move comes amid growing concern by U.S. lawmakers and others that cryptocurrency can be used by individuals and entities in Russia to avoid economic sanctions.
- On Friday, the White House and G7 group of nations said they would issue new guidance regarding the use of cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions against Russia.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Read more: Crypto Still Isn't Helping Russian Oligarchs Evade Sanctions
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- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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The chief executives of firms such as Gemini and Kraken will pitch in on U.S. policy efforts through the council's future, public discussions.
What to know:
- In her final days atop the agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline Pham announced her CEO Innovation Council, replete with crypto executives.
- The names include the chief executives from Gemini, Kraken, Polymarket, Bitnomial and several others.
- The CFTC is expected to get its permanent chairman very soon when the Senate votes on the confirmation of Mike Selig, President Donald Trump's nominee.
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