Chainalysis Reports Remittance of USD 2.2 Million in Crypto to Pro-Russian Groups

Chainalysis Reports Remittance of USD 2.2 Million in Crypto to Pro-Russian Groups

The Blockchain Intelligence Company, Chainalysis, reports that the firm has identified 54 pro-Russian groups that have "collectively received over USD 2.2 million worth of cryptocurrency." The paramilitary groups in Ukraine primarily received bitcoin and ether donations. But the study report also mentioned tether, litecoin, and dogecoin as well.

USD 2.2 Million in Crypto Sent to Pro-Russian Groups

Chainalysis reports specify more than $2.2 million worth of crypto assets have been received by pro-Russian paramilitary groups located in the Donbas region of Ukraine. More specifically, Chainalysis says the recipients were located in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The conflict in Donbas and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine has been going on for the last few years. Separatists insist Donbas declared independence from Kyiv in 2014, and pro-Russian military groups confer with the separatists’ declarations. The blockchain intelligence company’s study notes that it discovered roughly 54 pro-Russian groups that have obtained donations in crypto assets.

"Most of the cryptocurrencies donated so far have been sent to just a few organizations in particular," the Chainalysis report explains. "However, many more have received considerable sums. Five organizations have received over USD 100,000, 17 have received over USD 10,000, and 35 have raised more than USD 1,000 worth of cryptocurrency."

Since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war in February, the 54 pro-Russian entities in the Donbas region have acquired USD 1.45 million in bitcoin (BTC) donations and USD 590K in Ethereum (ETH) donations.

"The accounts that support militias often publish pictures of the purchased equipment and descriptions of how future donations will be used," the Chainalysis report describes, with an accompanying picture of military equipment purchased with crypto. "Sometimes the posts even itemize the purchases," Chainalysis researchers wrote.

Onchain Data Gives ‘Gleaning Insights into Pro-Russian Activities’

The news from Chainalysis was published on July 29, 2022, as the Ukraine-Russia war continues with no end in sight. In recent times, a specific mining study shows that Russia is a popular destination for crypto asset miners. The research published by Intelion Data Systems discovered that crypto miners are flocking to Moscow and Moscow Oblast, Karelia, and Buryatia.

Many believe that Russia, China, and the BRICS nations are targeting the U.S. dollar’s perceived hegemony by crafting a new international reserve currency. Recently, both Russia and Ukraine have traded blame games over a deadly attack on a prisoner of war prison in a separatist region in Ukraine.

The Chainalysis report further says that funds are being sent to people listed in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned individuals' lists. For instance, "Alexander Zhuchkovsky, an OFAC-designated Russian national, has used social media to collect donations for the Russian Imperial Movement."

While the USD 2.2 million in crypto is a significant sum, the Chainalysis researchers remark that the information is useful. "Because public blockchains are transparent, and we can follow each transfer in the accounts’ chains of payments, gleaning insights into pro-Russian activities that would be harder to extract from fiat money investigations," the company’s report concludes.