Japan Sanctions Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex Freezes Assets

Japan has expanded its sanctions against the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, freezing its assets as part of a broader package of restrictions targeting entities linked to Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the Ministries of Finance and Economy, Trade, and Industry, added Garantex to an updated sanctions list. This list also includes 32 other organizations, such as “Alabuga” and “Uraldronzavod,” and nine individuals from the defense and fintech sectors.

The new restrictions prohibit Japanese companies and users from conducting any transactions with the sanctioned entities. Garantex was previously targeted by the US, European Union, and other jurisdictions in August 2022 for allegedly helping Russian authorities evade financial restrictions. The US Treasury also sanctioned Grinex, considered a successor exchange to Garantex, and imposed restrictions on the CEO of Exved and Telegram channel creator Sergey Mendeleev.

Analysts from TRM Labs reported that Garantex had preemptively set up a network of successor platforms to mitigate the impact of US sanctions. In May, Garantex co-founder Sergey Mendeleev was added to the UK sanctions list for supporting Russian authorities through business activities involving Exved and Indefibank. Mendeleev, however, claimed that Indefibank has not operated since 2020 and that Exved does not conduct operations.