US Imposes Sanctions on Belarusian Man in Ransomware Case

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Belarusian citizen Yegeniy Silayev and Ukrainian citizen Dmytro Rashevskyi , as well as the VPN service First VPN Service (1VPNS).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says that 1VPNS provided services to groups and individuals involved in ransomware operations. Rashevskyi administered the service, while Silayev sold crypter software that was used to disguise ransomware and other malware.

“Ransomware groups utilizing these individuals’ services have caused billions of dollars in losses to U.S. businesses and critical infrastructure providers”, OFAC said.

The US State Department says that 1VPNS, Rashevskyi and Silayev provided support to groups involved in distributing ransomware and attacking US hospitals, schools, businesses and local governments. The 1VPNS infrastructure was dismantled in May 2026 with support from the FBI.

“These actors supplied ransomware groups with tools to hide their identities, disguise malicious software, and evade detection — enabling attacks that have caused billions of dollars in losses to U.S. critical infrastructure providers”, the State Department said.

According to the OFAC website, Yegeniy Vladimirovich Silayev was born on November 9, 2000. Silayev’s address is listed as Pestraa iela 8-7, Grodno (possibly referring to Piestraka Street in Hrodna), along with his passport number.