A recent report from Swiss blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger revealed that the sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Garantex has resurfaced under the name Grinex.
“After the Garantex website was taken down and its wallets were frozen, the sanctioned exchange provides access to crypto services through an alternative platform, Grinex,” said Global Ledger.
By mid-March, Grinex had already received over $29 million.
‼️Compliance alert: #Garantex founders launch a new platform
1/ Following Garantex’s shutdown and #Tether freezing its wallets, the founders have launched Grinex. Here’s what we’ve uncovered 👇 pic.twitter.com/m28einnisn
— Global Ledger (@GlobalLedger) March 19, 2025
Garantex has been implicated in laundering over $96 billion in illicit funds. The firm faced coordinated enforcement actions from the US and the European Union (EU). In fact, just last week, Indian authorities arrested the founder of Garantex, Aleksej Besciokov, in the South Indian state of Kerala.
On America’s request, Besciokov has been arrested for facilitating money laundering by transnational criminal organizations, including terrorist organizations, and sanctions violations.
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Garantex And Grinex Are Directly Connected, Both On-Chain And Off-Chain
The Swiss analytics firm said that it can confidently conclude that Grinex and Garantex are directly connected both on-chain and off-chain.
Grinex has reportedly inherited much of Garantex’s user base and financial operations.
Swiss blockchain analytics firms have uncovered that over $60 million worth of ruble-backed stablecoins (A7A5) were laundered and funneled into Grinex during its transition.
“The movement of funds, including the systematic transfer of A7A5 liquidity, the use of one-time-use wallets, and the involvement of addresses previously associated with Garantex, provides clear on-chain proof of their link,” Global Ledger said. “Additionally, off-chain indicators, such as transactional patterns, commentaries and exchange behaviours, further reinforce this connection.”
Advanced crypto laundering techniques—such as burning and minting mechanisms—were employed to make new stablecoins appear “clean,” allowing the platform to evade detection.
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Enforcement Actions Faced By Garantex
Garantex has been on the radar of international regulatory authorities for some time. The exchange was blacklisted by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in April 2022.
In recent enforcement actions, authorities froze $28 million in assets tied to Garantex and seized its domains.
Stablecoin issuer Tether also stepped in to freeze $27 million worth of funds, disrupting withdrawal services for users.
Despite these efforts, Garantex managed to rebrand itself as Grinex, transferring liquidity and customer funds to the new platform.
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Key Takeaways
- The Swiss analytics firm said that it can confidently conclude that Grinex and Garantex are directly connected both on-chain and off-chain.
- Grinex has reportedly inherited much of Garantex’s user base and financial operations.
