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The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the Russian "bulletproof" hosting provider Aeza Group and four of its operators. US authorities claim that the hosting was used by extortionist hacking groups, infostealers, and darknet marketplaces.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims that Aeza's services were used to host the resources of the BianLian extortion group, the RedLine stealer panels, and the BlackSprut darknet marketplace, which specialized in selling narcotics in the US and other countries.
Recall that "bulletproof" hosting is usually called services that intentionally ignore complaints about abuse and requests from law enforcement agencies, creating a safe environment for hosting malware and carrying out attacks.
OFAC also imposed sanctions on four people who, according to US authorities, are the main operators of Aeza Group:
Recall that in April 2025, Russian media reported on the arrests of Yuri Bozoyan, Arseniy Penzev and several employees of the company.
Thus, Kommersant wrote that the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia accuses the defendants of creating a criminal community, participating in it and other crimes. According to some reports, the criminal case also allegedly involved illegal banking activities as part of an organized criminal group (Part 2 of Article 172 and Part 1 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
In turn, the Telegram channel Mash reported that the arrests are related to the aforementioned darknet marketplace BlackSprut, which was allegedly hosted on Aeza servers for more than two years. "All expenses for office rent, equipment and machinery were taken on by [Aeza Group]. The money was received through crypto wallets and divided among themselves," Mash stated, citing his own sources.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims that Aeza's services were used to host the resources of the BianLian extortion group, the RedLine stealer panels, and the BlackSprut darknet marketplace, which specialized in selling narcotics in the US and other countries.
Recall that "bulletproof" hosting is usually called services that intentionally ignore complaints about abuse and requests from law enforcement agencies, creating a safe environment for hosting malware and carrying out attacks.
OFAC also imposed sanctions on four people who, according to US authorities, are the main operators of Aeza Group:
- Arseniy Aleksandrovich Penzev - CEO and owner of 33% of Aeza Group;
- Yuri Meruzhanovich Bozoyan - CEO and owner of 33% of Aeza Group;
- Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Gast is the technical director of Aeza Group, who collaborated with Penzev and Bozoyan;
- Igor Anatolyevich Knyazev is the owner of 33% of Aeza Group, who managed the company in the absence of Penzev and Bozoyan.
Recall that in April 2025, Russian media reported on the arrests of Yuri Bozoyan, Arseniy Penzev and several employees of the company.
Thus, Kommersant wrote that the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia accuses the defendants of creating a criminal community, participating in it and other crimes. According to some reports, the criminal case also allegedly involved illegal banking activities as part of an organized criminal group (Part 2 of Article 172 and Part 1 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
In turn, the Telegram channel Mash reported that the arrests are related to the aforementioned darknet marketplace BlackSprut, which was allegedly hosted on Aeza servers for more than two years. "All expenses for office rent, equipment and machinery were taken on by [Aeza Group]. The money was received through crypto wallets and divided among themselves," Mash stated, citing his own sources.