Sanders is a volunteer for Ukraine’s national police force, which has become increasingly concerned about Russian operatives being paid in cryptocurrency.
Sanders grabbed his camouflaged luggage, which contained a hidden camera disguised as a car key, a wand to scan for eavesdropping devices in his hotel room, and an array of tourniquets in case of an airstrike. He also carried a stack of cash and a digital wallet on his iPhone loaded with cryptocurrency.
My editor’s directive was clear: Find a bunker at the first warning of incoming drones or missiles. So I flagged a cab to the closest bomb shelter on my map. Sanders, though, had more pressing matters to attend to.
“Sorry to ditch you,” he said. “There are targets I have to hit before close of business.”
His targets were embedded in the country’s vast shadow financial system - where untold amounts of cryptocurrency are...