The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Russian hosting company Aeza Group and four of its top operators, accusing them of operating a “bulletproof hosting” service for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups, infostealer operators, darknet drug markets, and Russian disinformation campaigns.
According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Aeza’s infrastructure was used by the BianLian ransomware gang, RedLine infostealer panels, and the BlackSprut darknet drug marketplace, which sold illegal substances worldwide, including in the U.S. Aeza has also been linked to the “Doppelgänger” disinformation campaign, which cloned Western media outlets to spread Russian propaganda.
The four individuals named in the sanctions are:
- Arsenii Penzev – CEO and 33% owner of Aeza Group
- Yurii Bozoyan – General Director and 33% owner
- Vladimir Gast – Technical Director
- Igor Knyazev – 33% owner and acting manager in the absence of Penzev and Bozoyan
These individuals, along with Aeza Group’s associated companies—Aeza International Ltd., Aeza Logistic LLC, and Cloud Solutions LLC—will have their U.S.-based assets frozen, and U.S. entities are now barred from doing business with them.
Reports from Russian media earlier this year revealed that Penzev, Bozoyan, and others were arrested in April for illegal banking and links to the BlackSprut drug operation. The Treasury says this move expands on previous sanctions issued in February against other bulletproof hosting services like ZServers and Xhost, both tied to the LockBit ransomware gang and similar cybercrime networks.
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