Elliptic Exposes Russian Crypto Network: How Digital Assets Bypass Sanctions

Sanctions? What sanctions? A new report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic paints a stark picture: a sprawling network of Russian crypto platforms is systematically sidestepping international financial restrictions.

The Digital Backdoor

Forget complex tradecraft. The methods are surprisingly straightforward—leveraging the inherent pseudonymity of decentralized exchanges, utilizing privacy-focused tokens, and nesting within jurisdictions with lax oversight. It's less spy thriller, more regulatory arbitrage on a geopolitical scale. The traditional sanction playbook, it seems, has a glaring crypto-shaped hole.

A System Under Strain

This isn't about a few rogue transactions. Elliptic's findings suggest an operational ecosystem facilitating capital flight and maintaining access to global markets. It cuts directly to the heart of modern financial warfare, questioning the efficacy of tools built for a pre-blockchain era. Compliance teams at major institutions are likely scrambling to update their risk models—again.

The Compliance Conundrum

The revelation forces a tough question: can decentralized technology ever be fully 'controlled' by centralized authorities? Every regulatory patch seems to inspire a dozen new workarounds. It's the ultimate cat-and-mouse game, funded by the very volatility that makes crypto so attractive to some.

Finance's new reality is here: where there's a will—and a wallet—there's a way. And as one cynical trader might note, the only thing moving faster than these transactions is the consulting industry built to stop them.

Elliptic: Nearly 10% of Bitpapa Transactions Tied to Sanctioned Targets

Among the exchanges examined, only the peer-to-peer marketplace Bitpapa is under US sanctions.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the platform in March 2024 for alleged sanctions evasion.

Elliptic found that about 9.7% of Bitpapa’s outgoing transactions were linked to sanctioned entities and that the exchange frequently rotated wallet addresses to make monitoring more difficult.

The report also highlights ABCeX, an unsanctioned exchange operating from Moscow’s Federation Tower, the same building previously used by Garantex before US authorities seized its domains in March 2025.

Elliptic estimates ABCeX has processed at least $11 billion in crypto, with significant transfers flowing to Garantex and another exchange, Aifory Pro.

JUST IN:European Union proposes banning all crypto transactions with Russia to prevent sanctions evasion. pic.twitter.com/4FlGZJJorB

Another case involves Exmo, which said it exited the Russian market after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by selling its regional operations to a separate entity, Exmo.me.

Elliptic’s analysis suggests operational ties remain: both services appear to share custodial infrastructure and pooled hot wallets.

The firm recorded more than $19.5 million in transactions between Exmo and sanctioned exchanges, including Garantex, Grinex and Chatex.

Rapira, registered in Georgia but maintaining a Moscow office, was also flagged after sending over $72 million directly to sanctioned exchange Grinex.

Authorities in Russia reportedly raided Rapira’s offices in late 2025 over suspected capital transfers to Dubai.

The fifth platform, Aifory Pro, operates cash-to-crypto services in Moscow, Dubai and Turkey.

The company reportedly offers virtual payment cards funded with USDT that allow Russian users to access services restricted by Western providers. Elliptic also traced nearly $2 million from Aifory Pro to the Iranian exchange Abantether.

Sanctions Shift Activity, Illicit Crypto Volume Hits Record High

Researchers say the network illustrates how enforcement actions can shift activity rather than eliminate it.

After the shutdown of Garantex, transaction volumes ROSE on other exchanges, according to data from multiple analytics firms.

Chainalysis reported that illicit crypto addresses received a record $154 billion in 2025, while TRM Labs produced a similar estimate of $158 billion.

As reported, Russia’s industrial crypto mining sector continued to expand in 2024, with the country’s two largest operators, BitRiver and Intelion, generating a combined $200 million in revenue and accounting for more than half of the legal market.