Russia Jails Citizen for 15 Years for ‘Sending Crypto to Ukrainian Army’

A Russian court has sent a man to jail for 15 years after convicting him of sending crypto to the Ukrainian military.

Per a report from the state-run news agency TASS, the man is a resident of the Oryol Oblast, some 370km to the south of Moscow.

The court heard that the man used crypto to “transfer money” to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on “multiple occasions.”

Another Russian Convicted for Sending Crypto to Ukrainian Army

The unnamed man was charged with treason-related offenses by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The agency has seemingly intensified its crackdown on Russian supporters of Ukraine’s military forces in recent months.

An image from the FSB’s video of a man convicted of sending crypto to Ukrainian military units. (Source: TASS/Screenshot)

The FSB likely has access to a range of blockchain analytics tools that let law enforcers monitor individual crypto users.

These tools were first put into operation by the Russian anti-AML body Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) in early 2023.

Last year, Russian scientists also said they had developed a solution that helps law enforcers fight against “criminals” who make use of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The court also ordered the man to pay a 500,000 ruble (around $6,000) fine.

TASS reported that a branch of the Western District Military Court heard that the man made “multiple transfers of funds” to “armed formations” in based Ukraine.

The FSB’s press service claimed the man was a member of Telegram channels run by “Ukrainian terrorist organizations.”

A monument in central Oryol, Russia. (Source: Aleksey Svirin [CC BY-SA 4.0])Man ‘Made Multiple Crypto Transfers’

The agency said the man “repeatedly transferred funds” in “support” of the groups in 2023 and 2024.” The FSB said:

“The [crypto] was used to buy drones, weapons, ammunition, and tactical equipment for the Ukrainian army. These were all intended to help conduct military operations against soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces.”

The court convicted the man of “high treason” and “assisting a terrorist activity,” both “violations of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.”

The FSB released scant details about the man, noting only that he was a resident of Oryol, and that he was born in 1976.

However, the FSB released a video “confession” from the man, where he addressed the camera and said:

“I sent […] cryptoassets. […] I knew that I was sending it to [groups] that were fighting on Ukraine’s side.”

Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy to the Middle East, says a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is "likely to happen."

He says a full ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine can be reached in a couple of weeks https://t.co/8wUfduZ0ZR pic.twitter.com/SFkXQXWuOM

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) March 19, 2025 FSB’s Crypto Crackdown

The FSB has made scores of similar arrests in recent months. Most recently, it arrested a man in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, accusing him of sending crypto to Ukraine-based militants. The agency said that the militants used the funds to buy drones.

Russia has increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies to facilitate its oil trade with China and India, allowing it to bypass Western sanctions.#Russia #Chinahttps://t.co/T3bKfCy8fP

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) March 14, 2025

The agency’s arrest report also featured a similar video confession, with the suspect’s face blurred and very little information provided about his identity.

The FSB made another arrest on March 19, swooping on an address in Krasnodar Krai to arrest a man who it says “gave the Ukrainian special services information about a Russian military facility.”

Per a separate TASS report, the man, the agency said, “proactively contacted representatives” of the Ukrainian army.

He then reportedly let them know about the facility, which is located near his home.

Russian oil cargo transferred from sanctioned tankers discharged into China, data shows https://t.co/DxM9ctm106 pic.twitter.com/ebSmsZurWD

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 19, 2025

The FSB says Ukraine’s military uses Russian crypto donations to buy items including “unmanned thermal imaging sights, aircraft, ammunition, and uniforms.”

Other arrestees, also charged with sending crypto to Ukrainian Armed Forces units and Russian paramilitaries based in Ukraine, include a Moscow-based scientist and a resident of the Russian Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk Krai.

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