Japan Freezes Garantex, Russian Crypto Exchange Sanctioned by US and EU

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has added Russian crypto exchange Garantex to its asset-freeze list, joining the U.S. and European Union in targeting the platform. Garantex was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022, with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control saying it handled more than $100 million in transactions tied to ransomware and other illicit activity.

Despite the sanctions, Garantex continued to operate, processing over $60 billion in transactions after the 2022 sanctions. The exchange's domain was seized by the U.S. Secret Service in March 2025, and Treasury said its staff had shifted customer deposits to a successor exchange called Grinex.

Grinex was incorporated in Kyrgyzstan in December 2024, months before Garantex's domain was seized, suggesting the operators had a plan in place to transfer their business. The U.S. Treasury later re-designated Garantex and sanctioned Grinex, three executives, and six related companies in Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

Japan's latest action closes a financial door for Garantex, with Japanese residents and companies now needing permission to make payments to the exchange or enter certain deposit, trust, and loan arrangements with it. The country's package also reaches beyond crypto, restricting exports to four entities outside Russia and Belarus, and placing 35 vessels under controls.