US Sanctions Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex Over $100 Million in Illicit Transactions

The US Treasury Department has re-designated Moscow-based cryptocurrency exchange Garantex and sanctioned its successor, Grinex, along with three executives and six associated companies in Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic. Officials allege Garantex processed over $100 million in illicit transactions since 2019, including funds tied to ransomware attacks and darknet markets.

A coordinated law enforcement operation on March 6, 2025, involving the US Secret Service and German and Finnish authorities, seized Garantex's web domain and froze $26 million in cryptocurrency. The Justice Department unsealed indictments against executives Aleksandr Mira Serda and Aleksej Besciokov, with Besciokov arrested in India.

Garantex, founded in Estonia in 2019, lost its license in 2022 due to anti-money laundering failures. Treasury claims the exchange maintained accounts for hundreds of thousands of users, receiving millions from ransomware operations including Conti, LockBit, and Ryuk. The exchange allegedly built infrastructure to conceal wallet ownership, enabling continued service to sanctioned entities.