Yunhe Wang (OFAC Sanctioned)

Yunhe Wang (OFAC-sanctioned)

Yunhe Wang (Chinese: 王云禾) is a Chinese national designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on May 28, 2024, and added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List under the Cyber-related sanctions program (“CYBER2”). (ofac.treasury.gov)

Basis for designation

According to the U.S. Treasury, Wang was identified as the primary administrator of the “911 S5” residential proxy service / botnet, which used compromised devices to provide access to residential IP addresses that could be used to obscure cybercriminal activity. (home.treasury.gov)

OFAC stated that the botnet-enabled proxy service was leveraged in cybercrime, including activity connected to fraudulently obtaining economic assistance and bomb threats. (home.treasury.gov)

Identifiers and aliases (as listed by OFAC)

OFAC’s SDN List entry for this individual includes (among other fields):

• Name: WANG, Yunhe (王云禾) (ofac.treasury.gov)
• Date of birth: October 5, 1988 (ofac.treasury.gov)
• Place of birth: Beijing, China (ofac.treasury.gov)
• Nationality: China; alternate nationality: Saint Kitts and Nevis (ofac.treasury.gov)
• Aliases (examples): Jack Wan / Jack Wang / William Wilson / Jack Wong, and monikers including “TRAFFICCARB” and “TRAFFICCASH” (ofac.treasury.gov)
• The SDN entry also lists multiple digital currency addresses associated with the designation. (ofac.treasury.gov)

Associated entities also sanctioned (owned/controlled)

On the same date, OFAC also designated three Thailand-based companies described as owned or controlled by Yunhe Wang:

• Spicy Code Company Limited (ofac.treasury.gov)
• Tulip Biz Pattaya Group Company Limited (ofac.treasury.gov)
• Lily Suites Company Limited (ofac.treasury.gov)

Name ambiguity

“Yunhe Wang” is a name shared by multiple people online (including academics and researchers). The OFAC-sanctioned Yunhe Wang is specifically the individual whose SDN entry states DOB 05 Oct 1988 and POB Beijing, China, and links him to 911 S5. (ofac.treasury.gov)