US re-sanctions Russian crypto exchange before Trump-Putin talks
The United States Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has re-sanctioned the Russian crypto exchange Garantex hours before so-called “peace” talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin take place in Alaska.
The US and Russian presidents will reportedly discuss ending Russia’s invasion and a nuclear accord, all without Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy present. Western allies are worried that a Trump deal with Putin will involve conceding Ukrainian territory, especially after Trump stated that “there will be some land-swapping going on.”
As final preparations for these talks were underway, the US chose yesterday to expand sanctions to target a swathe of Russian crypto entities and financial institutions that are “enabling sanctions evasion and cyber criminals.”
Garantex, a Russian crypto exchange with links to a Kremlin-owned oil firm and criminal gangs, has been re-designated with further sanctions, alongside its successor, Grinex.
Read more: Garantex reportedly tied to violent Russian debt gang and KGB successor
The US shuttered Garantex’s web domain this year and, in concert with Tether, froze $27 million worth of USDT while accusing Garantex of facilitating over $100 million in illegally obtained proceeds from prolific ransomware groups and money launderers.
The OFAC claims that, in response, the crypto exchange Grinex was created to serve Garantex clientele, avoid sanctions, and continue processing billions of dollars worth of crypto transactions.
The ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 issued by the Kyrgyzstani firm Old Vector was integral to this transfer and allowed Garantex users to recoup their losses after enforcement action last March.
The token was created for a series of financial firms owned by the Moldovan oligarch Ilan Mironovic Shor andnd the sanctioned Russian bank Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company. These firms, including Old Vector, have also been sanctioned.
The new sanctions also target three more executives of Garantex, including Sergey Mendeleev, who was a local Moscow politician, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky.
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