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the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have jointly announced sanctions against a group of individuals involved in state-sponsored hacking organizations, cybercriminal groups, and their infrastructure providers. The targets are accused of causing billions of dollars in losses to global enterprises, critical infrastructure, and government agencies. Among them, the most notable is the EU's sanction against Russian cybercriminal Vitaly Nikolayevich Kovalev, also known as "Stern." The EU identified Stern as one of the core managers of the notorious Trickbot Group ransomware syndicate, which is behind high-risk ransomware variants such as Conti ransomware and Ryuk.On-chain analysis shows that wallet addresses linked to Stern have collectively received over $300 million in ransom payments, potentially making him the most prolific ransomware operator ever identified.According to the analysis, the $300 million figure represents only Stern's personal gains, while the total illicit income of the Trickbot Group could be significantly higher. On-chain fund flows indicate that Stern had transactional ties with multiple ransomware ecosystems, including Ryuk, Conti, Diavol, Karakurt, Royal, and Quantum.The investigation reveals that Stern played a role similar to a "CEO" within the Trickbot organization, responsible for budget management, personnel recruitment, infrastructure procurement, and attack planning. (Chainalysis)
the French National Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office (PNACO) issued a statement on Friday stating that France has launched judicial investigations into 12 cryptocurrency kidnapping cases orchestrated by organized crime groups, and has indicted 88 suspects, including more than 10 minors.According to statistics, since 2023, France has recorded 135 cryptocurrency-related attacks, including 18 in 2024, 67 in 2025, and 47 so far in 2026. The accused individuals face charges including kidnapping, illegal detention, extortion, and money laundering. Recently, police arrested six suspects in two operations targeting kidnapping cases, and all individuals are currently in preventive detention. CertiK blockchain intelligence analyst Jonathan Riss stated that the masterminds behind such criminal gangs are typically located outside the European Union.
According to DL News, Russian cryptocurrency exchange Grinex announced last Wednesday that it would cease operations after suffering a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of over 1 billion rubles—approximately $13 million. The report states that Grinex had processed nearly $100 billion in trading volume for the sanctioned stablecoin A7A5 in 2025. Its shutdown is expected to weaken Russian companies’ ability to convert rubles into usable international currencies and deliver a severe blow to Russia’s shadow financial system designed to circumvent sanctions. Grinex was viewed as the successor to Garantex, which had previously been sanctioned and shut down. Both Grinex and Old Vector—the issuer of A7A5—were sanctioned in August 2025 by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.