US Treasury Sanctions Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex Over Illicit Activities
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on Garantex Europe OU, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly processing over $100 million in transactions tied to cybercrime and sanctions evasion. The agency also blacklisted Grinex, its successor, along with three executives and six affiliated companies across Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
"Exploiting crypto exchanges to launder money and facilitate ransomware attacks undermines national security and damages the reputation of legitimate VIRTUAL asset service providers," said the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. The move signals continued scrutiny of digital asset firms despite broader regulatory easing under the Trump administration.
