EU Adds Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex To Its Sanctions List

The European Union (EU) has added the Russia-based cryptocurrency exchange, Garantex, to its sixteenth sanctions package.

Announced on 24 February 2025, the press release from the European Council said, “For the first time, the Council also decided to sanction, a crypto-currency exchange based in Russia, Garantex, which is closely associated with EU-sanctioned Russian banks.”

According the council, the sixteenth sanctions package “continues targeting actors responsible for circumventing EU sanctions, including through third countries.”

“Sanctions will also be imposed on third countries actors directly supporting the Russian war effort,” the EU added.

Stablecoins are being used for payments in Russia's drone industry only to be deposited at Garantex, a sanctioned Russian crypto exchange. As long as issuers like Tether and Circle don't identify their users, sanctions evasion cases like this will keep growing. pic.twitter.com/BJIzEJQKry

— John Paul Koning (@jp_koning) August 27, 2024

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Garantex Was Blacklisted By US In 2022

The crypto exchange was blacklisted by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in April 2022. Garantex has a record of being under scrutiny for alleged ties to illicit financial activities. 

In 2022 US authorities accused Garantex of facilitating transactions linked to criminal actors, including ransomware groups like Conti and darknet marketplaces such as Hydra, which has since been shut down.

The inclusion of Garantex is just one aspect of the EU’s latest sanctions package. The sixteenth round of penalties targets 48 individuals and 35 entities that are “directly supporting the Russian war effort.”

The sanctions will restrict Garantex’s ability to operate internationally, cutting it off from key financial networks and making it difficult for users outside Russia to access its services.

As geopolitical tensions persist, it is likely that we will see more such actions in the future.

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Crypto Laundering Plot Involving Russian Agents

In December 2024, UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) dismantled a vast Russian money laundering operation that funnelled billions through drug gangs during the pandemic.

Dubbed as “Operation Destabilise,” the inquiry exposed a nexus between Russian elites, cybercriminals, and organized crimes spanning across 30 nations. It has been termed one of the most impactful result against money laundering in the last decade.

The operation led to a total of 84 arrests globally, including 71 in the UK. Arrested persons were major couriers like Fawad Saiedi and Semen Kuksov, who transferred millions in drug earnings before their arrest and jail sentences.

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