The US Department of State and the Treasury Department have stepped up pressure on cryptocurrency infrastructure linked to cybercrime. This week, authorities offered up to $6 million for information that could help detain top managers of Garantex - a platform that serviced criminals involved in ransomware schemes and sanctions evasion.
Sanctions Against Garantex and Grinex
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has once again added Garantex Europe OU, a crypto exchange registered in Estonia but operating in Moscow and St. Petersburg, to its sanctions list. According to OFAC, since 2019 the platform has processed transactions worth more than $100 million connected to illegal activities.
Along with Garantex, its successor Grinex was also sanctioned. Grinex is a new platform created by Garantex employees after law enforcement actions on March 6, 2025. On that date, the US Secret Service, with support from authorities in Germany and Finland, took down Garantex’s infrastructure, seized its domain, and froze more than $26 million in crypto assets. After that, the exchange transferred customer assets to Grinex, and one of its executives - Aleksej Besciokov - was detained in India. Another defendant is Aleksandr Mira Serda.
Links to Criminal Groups
According to the US Treasury, Garantex received funds from groups linked to the Conti, LockBit, and NetWalker ransomware strains, among others. The platform was also used by Ekaterina Zhdanova, previously sanctioned for money laundering, who exchanged over $2 million in Bitcoin for USDT through Garantex.
After losing its Estonian license in February 2022, Garantex continued serving customers by developing technical solutions to conceal wallet links to sanctioned entities. OFAC accused the exchange of supporting activities that threaten US economic and cybersecurity, including theft of data, resources, and intellectual property.
Grinex and the Creation of the A7A5 Token
OFAC also sanctioned Grinex as an entity created to bypass existing restrictions. The new platform used the A7A5 token - a ruble-backed digital asset developed by Old Vector, a company from Kyrgyzstan. The token was created in cooperation with Garantex and intended to compensate Russian users for losses. According to law enforcement documents, the launch was supported by companies A7, A71, and A7 Agent, which are linked to Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor and the Russian bank Promsvyazbank.
Key Figures and Partner Entities
Among Garantex’s leadership, sanctions were imposed on Sergey Mendeleev, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky. Mendeleev also controls InDeFi Bank and Exved, platforms that helped users bypass US financial sanctions through cryptocurrency purchases and international transfers.
Following the new sanctions, all property owned by these individuals and companies in the US or held by US persons is subject to blocking.
The operation against Garantex involves the FBI and the US Secret Service Cyber Division. The State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Aleksandr Mira Serda, and up to $1 million for information on other Garantex executives.
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