US sanctions Pakistani company, six nationals working as Russian proxy

The US Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Pakistan-based company and six individuals for acting on behalf of the Russian network that attempted to meddle in the 2020 United States presidential election.

The sanctions were imposed on "Second Eye Solution", and six Pakistani nationals, along with 32 Russian entities and individuals, who attempted to influence the presidential polls on the behest of the Russian government, The News International reported.

Pakistan-based Second Eye Solution (SES), also known as Forwarderz, is an organisation that specializes in creating and selling fraudulent identities and has assisted the IRA in concealing its identity to evade sanctions, according to the treasury department. The Internet Research Agency (IRA) here is a Russian troll farm that Office of Foreign Assets Control, (OFAC) previously designated for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

Since at least 2012, SES engaged in a scheme to provide digital photographs of fake documents including passports, driver's licenses, bank statements, utility bills, and national identity documents.

"SES markets these fake documents for use to verify online accounts including money service business accounts and social media website accounts. In 2017, the IRA purchased 15 fraudulent U.S. driver licenses images from SES. The purchased licenses were used as supporting documents for online social media accounts opened by the IRA," the department said.

"Pakistani Nationals Mohsin Raza, Mujtaba Raza, Syed Hasnain, Muhammad Hayat, Syed Raza, and Shahzad Ahmed are the owners and employees who were instrumental in processing payment for fraudulent identities. Fresh Air Farm House, Like Wise, and MK Softtech are four Pakistani front companies used to launder SES profits," the department added.

The statement further said that the fraudulent documents produced by SES are likely used at many online services to evade sanctions and anti-money laundering (AML) screening protocols beyond what OFAC has been able to identify.

"As part of today's listing of SES on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, OFAC is also identifying digital currency addresses used by SES to fulfill customer orders in order to help assist financial institutions, and their third-party identity verification services, in identifying customers on their platforms who have purchased fraudulent identity documents. Known SES digital currency addresses have received over 2.5 million dollars in digital currencies over more than 26,900 transactions from 2013 to March 2021," the department said.

The treasury department's actions come after the Intelligence Community's "Assessment of Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections.

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