The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) redesignated cryptocurrency exchange Garantex Europe OU and its successor Grinex to its sanctions list on Thursday, citing their facilitation of over $100 million in illicit transactions since 2019. The sanctions extend to three Garantex executives and six Russia- and Kyrgyz Republic-based entities linked to the exchange.
OFAC accused Garantex of directly enabling ransomware actors and cybercriminals, with Under Secretary John K. Hurley emphasizing that such activities "threaten national security and tarnish legitimate virtual asset service providers." This marks the second sanction against Garantex, following an April 2022 designation tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson noted stablecoins—specifically mentioning USDT and ruble-backed alternatives—have become critical tools for Russian sanctions evasion. "If the U.S. is serious about enforcing sanctions, it must address these crypto workarounds," he stated. The action contrasts with broader regulatory easing under the Trump administration, including the DOJ disbanding its crypto fraud unit and dropped cases against exchanges like Coinbase and Binance.US earlier this year.
Concurrently, U.S. authorities pursue Garantex executives: Aleksej Besciokov was arrested in India in March, while Aleksandr Mira Serda remains at large with a $6 million bounty for his capture.