Enhanced Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex seized, operators charged with money laundering
Garantex, a Russian crypto exchange popular with ransomware gangs and DarkNet markets, has been obtained in an international law enforcement operation, according to a Friday announcement from the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
On Thursday, a coalition of law enforcement agencies from the US, Germany and Finland seized Garantex’s domains and servers, and frozen nearly $ 28 million in crypto tied to the exchange with the help of Stablecoin who gave Tether.
The US Treasury’s Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) office punished Garantex in 2022, accusing the exchange of deliberately facilitating money losses for ransomware actors, including Conti and Black Just, and Darknet markets such as Hydra, which, before it shut down, has once the largest dark market in the world.
Penalties have no impact on Garantex – according to data from the Blockchain that is a delightful elliptic firm, which assisted the US in its investigation, the exchange processed more than $ 60 billion in crypto transactions after being punished. In total, the exchange has transaired more than $ 96 billion.
According to Documents in courtGarantex collects almost unaware of your-customer-customer (KYC) information about its clients, allowing criminals to use its services, and accounts are registered with customers who use names such as “medicine,” “Hacker,” “Taliban,” “Cashout, Cleancoins” and “God.”
In addition to ransomware actors and Darknet markets, the Garantex client is said to be with the North Korean state, the Lazarus group, which is behind the massive $ 1.5 billion bybit heist last month, as well as Russian oligarchs, who used the service to prevent international sanctions on Ukraine war. Sophisticated international punishment companies, such as the TGR Group, which fit Russia’s elites, are tied to Garatex.
Following the seizure of Garantex’s servers and domains, two of its operators were charged by the US criminal for their exchange connections.
Lithuanian national and Russian resident Aleksej bescikov, 46, will be charged with conspiracy in conspiracy, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed business -sending business. Aleksandr Mira Serda, 40, a Russian citizen who currently lives in the United Arab Emirates, is charged with conspiracy of money in order.
