Crypto Crackdown: OFAC Sanctions SUEX Cryptocurrency Exchange

In its press release announcing the sanctions, OFAC indicated that more than 40% of SUEX's transactions involved illicit actors.¹ SUEX has been added to OFAC's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons ("SDN List"), meaning that all of SUEX's property and interests in property that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with SUEX.

Along with designating SUEX as an SDN, OFAC also updated its Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments ("Advisory"),² which was originally published on October 1, 2020. (For more information on the original Advisory, see our article Ransomware Attacks Are on the Rise; Are You Ready?)