U.S. Enforcement Actions Continue From OFAC, SEC, DoJ And IRS

On Wednesday, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified three Chinese nationals and a related entity for allegedly manufacturing fentanyl and other drugs and distributing them to numerous countries, including the United States. As part of the action, the government identified and blocked bitcoin public key addresses associated with the purported drug ring. This marks the second time OFAC has blacklisted cryptocurrency accounts, leading some to remark that the practice will likely become commonplace. Earlier in the week, an individual in California was sentenced to 70 months in prison by a federal judge for crimes related to his purchase and sale of fentanyl and other drugs. As part of his guilty plea, the defendant forfeited millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies, and admitted that these funds were proceeds from drug trafficking and were used in money laundering over the Dark Web.