EU Includes Crypto Exchange Garantex in Its New Russian Sanctions Package

The European Council has sanctioned Moscow-based cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, with the measure coming as part of the EU’s 16th package of sanctions against Russia.

As outlined in its implementation notice, the EU is sanctioning Garantex because the exchange “is associated with Sberbank, T-Bank and Alfa-Bank”—all of which have been subject to EU sanctions since 2014.

The notice states that customers of these three sanctioned banks “can gain access to the global financial system via Garantex, as roubles from bank accounts are exchanged into cryptocurrency and subsequently cryptocurrency is exchanged into other currencies.”

Announcing the latest sanctions, Kaja Kallas—the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy—emphasized that they were intended in part to mark the three-year anniversary of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine.

“This new round of sanctions not only targets the Russian shadow fleet but those who support the operation of unsafe oil tankers, video game controllers used to pilot drones, banks used to circumvent our sanctions, and propaganda outlets used to spout lies,” she said.

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Garantex in 2022 and the UK followed suit in 2023, with OFAC describing its platform as a “ransomware-enabling virtual currency exchange.”

According to Isabella Chase, the Head of Policy in the UK and EU for blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, Garantex has “played a major role” in enabling illicit financial activity since its founding in 2019.

“In fact, it is the worst offender by far when it comes to facilitating sanctions evasion and other illicit activity,” she tells Decrypt.

According to TRM Labs, Garantex and Iran’s Nobitex accounted for over 85% of inflows to sanctioned entities and jurisdictions in 2024, although Chase asserts that “Garantex is the much worse offender” when it comes to illicit activity.

“The exchange has facilitated transactions linked to cybercriminals, darknet markets, and ransomware groups like Conti,” she says. “It was also a major enabler of transactions for Hydra Market, a now-defunct Russian darknet marketplace.”

And despite having already been on the end of sanctions from the U.S. and the UK, Garantex has “continued to process billions in transactions annually,” according to Chase.

Chainlaysis also confirms this account, with Head of National Security Intelligence Andrew Fierman telling Decrypt that it continues to be an important node in Russia’s illicit cyber networks.

He says, “Since its sanctions designation by the US and UK in 2022, Garantex has continued to support facilitation of illicit activity, including laundering funds for Russian elites and ransomware operators, multiple times, providing off-ramping for bulletproof hosting services which supported ransomware attacks, utilized by Russian disinformation operators, potential military supply chain operations and much more.”

This raises the question of just how effective sanctions can be, and of whether the EU’s latest measures will make a significant dent in Garantex’s operations.

For Fierman, this isn’t that probable, given the significant position Garantex has established for itself within Russia.

“While there are a number of smaller Russian-language instant exchanges that can help illicit actors move funds and evade sanctions, trust plays a significant role in Russia’s crypto ecosystem and Garantex is highly regarded due to its stable liquid reserves,” he says.

In fact, Fierman believes that as long as Garantex remains operational, it’s “unlikely” that users will move elsewhere as a result of the sanctions.

Despite this stark assessment, TRM Labs’ 2025 Crypto Crime Report did record a 33% decline in the total volume transferred by sanctioned entities between 2023 and 2024, from $21.9 billion to $14.8 billion.

This conflicts somewhat with equivalent data from Chainalysis, with the latter reporting an increase from $14.9 billion in 2023 to $15.8 billion in 2024.

However, it should be noted that this data also includes volumes received by entire jurisdictions, meaning that it will also reflect legitimate activity.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.