U.S. and Allies Dismantle Russian Crypto Exchange Tied to Crime and Terrorism

Garantex administrators charged with laundering billions in criminal proceeds as international law enforcement seizes assets and websites.

The U.S., Germany, and Finland collaborated to shut down Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of laundering $96 billion since 2019.
The exchange facilitated crimes including ransomware, drug trafficking, terrorism financing, and sanctions violations, according to U.S. officials.
Law enforcement seized Garantex's domain names, servers, and froze over $26 million in cryptocurrency linked to illicit activities.
Two administrators, Aleksej Besciokov and Aleksandr Mira Serda, face charges of money laundering and sanctions violations; both remain outside U.S. custody.
Garantex allegedly served clients such as North Korean hackers, Russian oligarchs, and darknet markets, while evading sanctions and regulatory oversight.