A Major Blow to Garantex
In a decisive move against illicit cryptocurrency activities, the U.S. Secret Service, alongside the FBI, Europol, and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, has seized the website of the Russian crypto exchange Garantex. The exchange has been under heavy scrutiny for its alleged connections to ransomware groups and darknet marketplaces.
The Garantex website now displays a seizure notice stating, “The domain of Garantex has been seized by the United States Secret Service pursuant to a seizure warrant.” The warrant was obtained through the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
International Law Enforcement Collaboration
The operation involved multiple international law enforcement agencies, including:
- The Dutch National Police
- The Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office
- The Estonian National Criminal Police
- The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation
- The German Federal Criminal Police Office
Following the website seizure, Garantex’s domain now points to servers owned by the U.S. Secret Service, where multiple other seized domains are hosted.
Long-Standing Scrutiny and Sanctions
Garantex has been facing regulatory pressure for years. In February 2025, the European Union sanctioned the exchange due to its links with Russian financial institutions. This move followed the U.S. Treasury Department’s 2022 sanctions, which accused Garantex of facilitating transactions for illicit actors, including the Russian ransomware group Conti and the darknet marketplace Hydra.
Tether Freezes USDT Worth Millions on Garantex Wallets
Shortly before the website seizure, Tether, the issuer of USDT, froze $27 million worth of the stablecoin held in Garantex wallets. This action caused the exchange to halt its operations temporarily, including crypto withdrawals.
Garantex addressed the freeze in an official Telegram announcement, stating, “We have bad news. Tether has entered the war against the Russian crypto market and blocked our wallets worth more than 2.5 billion rubles.” The exchange warned users that all USDT in Russian wallets could be at risk and vowed to continue operations despite these setbacks.
Impact on the Russian Crypto Market
Although Garantex is not a top-tier crypto exchange, its closure marks a significant event in the Russian crypto industry. The deputy head of the Russian parliament’s committee on information policy commented on Telegram, “This is certainly not the last case of Western countries applying pressure. However, they cannot fully block this market for Russia.”
The seizure of Garantex highlights increasing global regulatory enforcement against crypto exchanges suspected of facilitating illicit transactions. With governments tightening their grip, crypto exchanges operating in legally gray areas may face similar crackdowns in the near future.
