CyberHappenings logo
☰
Home Browse About

Track cybersecurity events as they unfold. Sourced timelines, daily updates. Fast, privacy‑respecting. No ads, no tracking.

U.S. sanctions Garantex and Grinex for facilitating ransomware-linked crypto transactions

First reported
Last updated
1 unique sources, 1 articles

Summary

Hide ▲

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has renewed sanctions against Garantex and its successor, Grinex, for facilitating over $100 million in ransomware-linked illicit crypto transactions since 2019. The sanctions also target three Garantex executives and six associated companies in Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic. The Treasury's action follows previous sanctions against Garantex in April 2022 for facilitating transactions from darknet markets and illicit actors. Garantex was seized in March 2025, and its co-founder, Aleksej Besciokov, was arrested in India. Despite these actions, Garantex rebranded as Grinex to evade sanctions, continuing to process illicit transactions. Garantex and Grinex have been linked to various ransomware variants, including Conti, Black Basta, LockBit, NetWalker, Phoenix Cryptolocker, and Ryuk. The sanctions aim to disrupt the use of cryptocurrency exchanges to launder money and facilitate ransomware attacks, which pose threats to national security and the reputation of legitimate virtual asset service providers.

Timeline

  1. 15.08.2025 14:27 1 articles · 1mo ago

    U.S. renews sanctions against Garantex and imposes sanctions on Grinex

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) renewed sanctions against Garantex and imposed new sanctions on Grinex for facilitating over $100 million in ransomware-linked illicit crypto transactions since 2019. The sanctions also target three Garantex executives and six associated companies in Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic. Garantex was first sanctioned in April 2022 and seized in March 2025, but it rebranded as Grinex to continue illicit activities. The sanctions aim to disrupt the use of cryptocurrency exchanges to launder money and facilitate ransomware attacks.

    Show sources
    Open in new tab

Information Snippets