U.S. Sanctions Garantex Again Over $100M in Illicit Crypto Transactions

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has redesignated Garantex Europe to its list of sanctioned entities, marking the second time the cryptocurrency exchange has been subjected to U.S. sanctions [1]. The redesignation was announced in mid-2025 following allegations that Garantex continued to process transactions for illicit activities, despite being first sanctioned in 2022 [3]. According to OFAC, the platform has been involved in facilitating over $100 million in transactions linked to ransomware actors and darknet markets since 2019 [3].

Following its initial sanctions, Garantex was severely disrupted in March 2025 when U.S. and international authorities seized its web domain and froze over $26 million in cryptocurrency assets [4]. In response, key executives established Grinex, a successor platform that appears to continue Garantex’s operations. OFAC redesignated both Garantex and Grinex in August 2025, citing their roles in enabling the Russian-backed stablecoin A7A5 [5]. This token, issued by Old Vector, a Kyrgyz Republic-based company, is backed by deposits at the sanctioned Russian bank Promsvyazbank and has facilitated billions in cross-border transactions [5].

The U.S. government has also sanctioned several Garantex executives, including Sergey Mendeleev, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky, for their roles in promoting Grinex and continuing Garantex’s illicit operations [5]. These individuals were involved in securing infrastructure and expanding the exchange’s reach beyond Russian jurisdiction. Mira Serda, one of the indicted executives, was arrested in India in March 2025, while the U.S. government issued a corrected arrest warrant for Mira Serda and offered a $6 million reward for information leading to the capture of him or other executives [5].

The sanctions against Garantex and its associated entities highlight the U.S. government’s continued focus on curbing the use of cryptocurrency for sanctions evasion and money laundering [1]. By targeting both the infrastructure and the individuals behind these operations, OFAC aims to disrupt the flow of illicit funds and prevent the development of alternative financial systems that enable bad actors to operate outside the reach of international sanctions [5]. The actions also emphasize the growing importance of blockchain analysis in identifying and tracing illicit financial activity, given the transparency and traceability of crypto transactions [5].

John Hurley, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, stated that the U.S. will not tolerate the abuse of the digital asset industry to support cybercrime and sanctions evasion [1]. He emphasized that such activities pose threats to national security and damage the reputations of legitimate virtual asset service providers.

Source:

[1] Cointelegraph – US Treasury's OFAC Sanctions Crypto Exchange Garantex – https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-treasury-ofac-sanctions-garantex-europe

[2] TradingView – US Treasury's OFAC Sanctions Crypto Exchange Garantex – https://www.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:a92695fc3094b:0-us-treasury-s-ofac-sanctions-crypto-exchange-garantex-for-second-time/

[3] AInvest – U.S. Treasury Redesignates Garantex Over Sanctions Evasion – https://www.ainvest.com/news/treasury-redesignates-garantex-sanctions-evasion-illicit-crypto-activity-2508/

[4] Investing.com – US Treasury re-designates Garantex crypto exchange – https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/us-treasury-redesignates-garantex-crypto-exchange-for-illicit-activities-93CH-4192933

[5] Chainalysis – How A7A5 and Grinex Enable The Russian Crypto Economy – https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/a7a5-grinex-russian-crypto-economy-ofac-sanctions-august-2025/