International Authorities Shut Down Russian Crypto Exchange Linked to Illicit Activities
- The U.S. Secret Service seized Garantex's website in coordination with law enforcement agencies from the EU, Germany, Finland, Estonia, and the Netherlands.
- The Moscow-based exchange was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for allegedly processing over $100 million in transactions linked to illicit actors.
- The seizure follows recent EU sanctions against Garantex for being "closely associated with EU-sanctioned Russian banks" amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Secret Service, working with multiple international law enforcement agencies, has seized the website of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange long accused of facilitating transactions for darknet markets and ransomware operators.
On Thursday, visitors to the Garantex website were greeted with a seizure notice stating that the domain had been taken over following a warrant issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
This operation represents the latest in a series of actions against the Moscow-based exchange.
Last month, the European Union sanctioned Garantex as part of a broader package of measures against Russia.
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In 2022, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the platform, claiming it had processed more than $100 million in transactions tied to "illicit actors and darknet markets," including the notorious Russian ransomware gang Conti and the darknet market Hydra.
Nate Herring, a spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service, confirmed the seizure to TechCrunch but declined to provide further details on the ongoing investigation.
On Thursday morning, prior to public knowledge of the seizure, Garantex announced in its Telegram channel that it was "suspending all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals" after stablecoin issuer Tether froze $28 million worth of cryptocurrency on the platform.
"We have bad news," Garantex wrote. "We are fighting and will not give up! Please note that all [Tether] in Russian wallets is currently under threat."
Edited By Annette George
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