Sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Garantex resurfaces as Grinex: report

Garantex, a Russian crypto exchange sanctioned by the US, is reportedly back in business under a new name, Grinex, after moving funds and users to the platform.

A report from Swiss blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger claims that Garantex has shifted its liquidity and customer balances to Grinex. The report cited on-chain and off-chain evidence linking the two exchanges despite Garantex’s official shutdown.

Global Ledger found that Garantex laundered over $60 million worth of ruble-backed stablecoins, A7A5, through a process of burning and reminting to wipe transaction histories. These funds were then funneled to Grinex, allowing the new platform to operate with clean records.

Notably, Grinex started receiving large transaction volumes soon after Garantex went offline, with incoming transfers surpassing $29 million by mid-March. Additionally, blockchain data showed systematic fund movements through one-time-use wallets before settling in Grinex’s deposit addresses.

Further, some users have reportedly confirmed that previously blocked funds on Garantex were showing up in their Grinex accounts. Meanwhile, a Grinex staff also admitted in private conversations that customers were physically visiting Garantex’s office to move funds between the two platforms.

Beyond the financial trail, Global Ledger pointed to several other indicators linking Grinex to Garantex.

Allegedly, the Grinex website resembles Garantex’s interface, and promotional materials suggest Garantex’s founders created it in response to sanctions.

The report also cited CoinMarketRating, a Russian crypto-tracking platform, which lists Grinex as being founded by the same team behind Garantex.

Garantex was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for allegedly facilitating illicit transactions. The European Union later imposed its own sanctions on Feb. 24, 2025.

Despite the crackdown, it continued operating, processing funds through sanctioned Russian banks to serve local users.

The exchange officially shut down on March 6, just days after Tether froze nearly 2.5 billion USDT in ruble-backed stablecoins. 

A week later, Indian authorities arrested Garantex co-founder Aleksej Bešciokov, who now awaits extradition.