Ukraine Seizes Crypto Funds to Finance Russian Military

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has for the first time put into place a mechanism to stop pro-Russia cryptocurrency fundraising in the continuing conflicts in the nation.

The SBU revealed in a press release on August 23 that a cryptocurrency wallet used to fund Russia's military campaign in Ukraine and run by a Russian person had been stopped. Since the beginning of the invasion, the individual, who claimed to be a volunteer, has been raising money for the requirements of the Russian military.

By the time it was blocked, the wallet contained digital coins worth 800,000 hryvnia ($22,000 at today's exchange rates), according to the SBU, who also stated that the money has now been seized. The associated transactions are currently being tracked by experts, and custody is being transferred to Ukraine. The agency did not say how it took possession of the wallet, but it did say that overseas cryptocurrency firms helped.

Investigators in Ukraine have been able to prove that the owner of the wallet used a sizable percentage of the donated cryptocurrency to buy weapons for the separatist militants of the self-declared Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics.