According to the information disclosed on the official website of the US Department of finance, since its establishment in 2019, the ETHereum mixed currency platform tornado cash has been used for virtual money laundering activities worth more than 7 billion US dollars.
Brian E. Nelson, deputy secretary of the US Treasury Department, said: "the Treasury Department will continue to take active actions to crack down on money mixers who assist criminals in cleaning virtual currencies."
As a result of this action, all property and interests of tornado cash in the United States or owned or controlled by Americans are frozen and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entity that is directly or indirectly owned by 50% or more by one or more banned persons will also be banned.
All transactions by or within the United States (or in transit) involving the property or interests of persons designated or otherwise prohibited will be prohibited unless authorized or exempted by a general or specific license issued by OFAC. These prohibitions include any donation or provision of funds, goods or services by any prohibited person, or any donation, funds, goods or services for any prohibited person.
It is reported that the power and integrity of OFAC's sanctions not only stems from OFAC's ability to designate personnel and add them to the sanctions list (SDN), but also from its willingness to remove relevant personnel from the SDN list according to law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not punishment, but to bring about positive changes in behavior.
Previously, OFAC included tornado cash in the sanctions list (SDN), including its website and multiple ETHereum and usdc wallet addresses. All US individuals and entities are prohibited from interacting with tornado cash or any Ethereum wallet address bound to the protocol.
