The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Russian company Operation Zero, accusing it of using cryptocurrencies to purchase hacking tools stolen from the U.S. government.

2026-02-25 02:26:27

Abstract generation in progress

Deep Tide TechFlow News, February 25 — According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Russian company Operation Zero and its related individuals, accusing them of using millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to purchase stolen cyber tools and resell these technologies.

These tools were originally developed by a defense contractor for use by the U.S. government and its allies. It is reported that former employee of the contractor, Australian citizen Peter Williams, stole and sold these trade secrets; he pleaded guilty to this last year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Department of the Treasury will continue to work with the Trump administration to protect America’s sensitive intellectual property and maintain national security. Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk and his company Operation Zero are among the first to be sanctioned under the Protect American Intellectual Property Act.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department noted that although cryptocurrency was used in the transactions, no specific blacklisted addresses were listed.

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.