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WASHINGTON – A group of Democratic senators voiced concern Wednesday about the potential of cryptocurrencies to undermine US sanctions against Russia. They asked the Ministry of Finance to explain how it will mitigate the risk.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week fueled demand for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in both countries. Assets, which can usually be transferred from two countries without a regulated intermediary, are often seen as an alternative payment network, and the Treasury warned in October that they could “potentially reduce the effectiveness of US sanctions”.

“These concerns have become even more urgent given the sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Massachusetts), Mark Warner (D., Virginia), Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Jack. Reed (D., RI) said in a letter to Finance Minister Janet Yellen.

Chainalysis, a company that tracks cryptocurrency transactions and has multimillion-dollar contracts with U.S. law enforcement, has found no evidence of evading heavy sanctions from Russians in cryptocurrency markets, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Current and former officials familiar with the finance ministry’s sanctions programs say cryptocurrency markets are not large enough to be used to circumvent the measures on a large scale. Russian individuals and legal entities know how to use the traditional financial system to launder money through offshore financial services, networks of fictitious companies and real estate, sanctions experts said.

Democrat senators cite recent reports that North Korea has used stolen cryptocurrencies to fund its nuclear missile program in violation of international sanctions, and that Iran has used bitcoin mining to generate money that can be used to buy imports. . They also noted estimates that nearly three-quarters of payments for ransom software or more than $ 400 million in cryptocurrency went to organizations linked to Russia.

Lawmakers said the Finance Ministry’s Sanctions Service relied too much on self-detection by violators to make enforcement efforts. They also said many crypto companies have been slow to adopt sanctions and other regulations, and that decentralized financial platforms known as DeFi rarely check their customers for anti-money laundering regulations.

“We are concerned about this [the sanctions office] has not developed strong enough and effective procedures for application in the cryptocurrency industry, “the senators wrote.

They asked the finance ministry to answer a series of questions and explain how it plans to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions by March 23rd.

A JetBlue pilot has twice exceeded the legal limit for driving with a breathalyzer test after being taken off a plane in Buffalo on Wednesday morning, the Niagara Border Transport Authority confirmed to CBS News in a statement. James Clifton, 52, has been arrested and could face federal charges, the Transportation Service said.

Clifton was passing security at Buffalo Airport when a TSA agent noticed that “he may be harmed,” the statement said. The agent contacted airport police, who pulled him out of the cockpit on the flight to Fort Lauderdale. He then blew 0.17 on a breathalyzer, authorities said, more than twice the driving limit. Pilots are considered incapable of flying if their blood alcohol levels are above .04, according to a brochure from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The man from Orlando, Florida, was detained by airport police, the statement said.

In a statement Wednesday night, the FAA said it was investigating “allegations that an airline pilot tried to report for duty while under the influence of alcohol.”

JetBlue said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was cooperating with law enforcement, as well as conducting its own internal investigation. JetBlue also said that the person involved was “removed from his duties”.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the legal limit for blood alcohol levels.

Democrats in Congress are urging US oil refineries to stop importing oil from Russia in a bid to increase pressure on the Kremlin a week after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bobby Rush, the Democratic chairman of the House House of Representatives’ energy subcommittee, and Jerry McNerny, another Democrat on the subcommittee, wrote to the refineries industry group, urging members to stop buying Russian crude oil and partially refined products.

In a letter to US fuel and petrochemical producers seen by the Financial Times, the two lawmakers wrote: “As any purchase of Russian barrels would now fund its war with Ukraine, it has become unscrupulous.

Separately, Jack Reed, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tweeted Wednesday: “Imports of Russian oil must be stopped. Our internal deliveries are sufficient. ”

The United States imported about 209,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Russia last year, or about 3 percent of total imports, according to AFPM. But it also imports another 500,000 barrels a day of other petroleum products, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all unfinished oil imported from U.S. refineries, according to Rapidan Energy Group, a consulting firm.

The latest data from the US Energy Information Administration shows that the largest buyers of Russian oil in the country include ExxonMobil.

Joe Biden, the president of the United States, said he was ready to impose an oil embargo on Russia. But as its employees discuss the wisdom of this, many oil buyers are already moving to stop buying supplies from Russia.

Valero Energy, a Texas-based refinery company that imports heavily from Russia, has reportedly stopped all future purchases of Russian oil. Russian Urals oil is now trading at a record discount of more than $ 18 a barrel as producers in the country struggle to find buyers.

SpaceX’s Starlink Internet is already active in Ukraine. But will the company be able to maintain it online?

Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continue to take lives and destroy infrastructure as the country invades. This infrastructure disruption disrupted Internet access in Ukraine, prompting a government official to publicly request Starlink satellite internet access for the country from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Musk committed, activated the Starlink service in Ukraine and sent additional hardware. But with ongoing attacks on infrastructure, how will Ukraine stay connected?