{"id":79075,"date":"2026-10-05T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/japans-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-hits-garantex-with-asset-freeze\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T05:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:00:09","slug":"japans-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-hits-garantex-with-asset-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/japans-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-hits-garantex-with-asset-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hits Garantex With Asset Freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Japan froze Garantex on Oct. 2, adding crypto to a broader Russia sanctions package.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Elliptic says Garantex processed over $60 billion after U.S. sanctions landed in 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Treasury says Garantex staff shifted customer deposits to successor exchange Grinex.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Japan Freezes an Exchange That Already Got the Ax<\/h2>\n<p>Japan has frozen the assets of a Russian crypto exchange that U.S. authorities effectively knocked offline 19 months ago, illustrating the peculiar game of international sanctions whack-a-mole.<\/p>\n<p>Garantex Europe OU landed at No. 402 on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mof.go.jp\/policy\/international_policy\/gaitame_kawase\/gaitame\/economic_sanctions\/ukraine_kankeisha_20261002.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Japan\u2019s Oct. 2 sanctions annex<\/a>, tucked among defense contractors, industrial companies and a package targeting 35 vessels linked to Russia\u2019s oil trade. Yet Garantex had already been sanctioned by Washington in 2022, lost its domain to the U.S. Secret Service in March 2025 and watched Tether freeze stablecoins on its platform. By then, however, the next act was already underway.<\/p>\n<h2>More Than $96 Billion Passed Through Garantex<\/h2>\n<p>Garantex was hardly a bit player. The U.S. Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control first sanctioned the exchange on April 5, 2022, saying it operated in Russia\u2019s financial-services sector. Treasury later said more than $100 million in transactions processed by Garantex since 2019 were tied to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/russian-crypto-exchange-moves-money-for-gaza-groups-report\/\">ransomware, terrorism, and other illicit activity<\/a>. That didn\u2019t exactly put the brakes on business.<\/p>\n<p>Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said Garantex <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/elliptic-uncloaks-60b-in-illicit-garantex-transactions-aiding-us-takedown\/\">processed more than $60 billion<\/a> after the 2022 sanctions and more than $96 billion altogether. Estonia had already revoked its license over anti-money-laundering failures, while the European Union eventually sanctioned the exchange as well.<\/p>\n<p>The heat finally intensified in March 2025. The U.S. Secret Service and foreign partners seized Garantex\u2019s domain, while the Justice Department unsealed indictments against executives Aleksandr Mira Serda and Aleksej Besciokov. Besciokov was arrested in India. On paper, Garantex had been clobbered.<\/p>\n<h2>The Successor Was Waiting in the Wings<\/h2>\n<p>There was a problem with that tidy ending. Treasury later said Garantex personnel transferred customer deposits to another exchange called Grinex. Records cited by Treasury showed <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/chainalysis-details-shadow-crypto-economy-exposure-as-grinex-suspends-operations\/\">the platform Grinex<\/a> had been incorporated in Kyrgyzstan in December 2024, months before Garantex\u2019s domain was seized. Rather than rebuild after the raid, the operators apparently had somewhere for the business to go.<\/p>\n<p>By Aug. 14, 2025, OFAC had <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sb0225\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">re-designated Garantex<\/a> and sanctioned Grinex, three executives, and six related companies in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Another successor platform, Exved, was named as well. TRM Labs has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trmlabs.com\/resources\/blog\/garantex-grinex-and-the-a7a5-token-a-deep-dive-into-sanctions-evasion-networks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">described the maneuver<\/a> as a feature of this corner of the crypto business. Exchanges facing enforcement can prepare replacement venues in advance, allowing customers, wallets, and trading activity to migrate when authorities come knocking. The storefront gets the ax. The machinery keeps moving.<\/p>\n<h2>Tokyo Closes Another Door<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mofa.go.jp\/press\/release\/pressite_000001_02701.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Japan\u2019s latest action<\/a> nevertheless closes a real financial door. Under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, Japanese residents and companies now need permission to make payments to Garantex Europe OU or enter certain deposit, trust, and loan arrangements with it. In practice, refusing that permission produces the asset freeze. Contracts predating Oct. 2 receive a limited grace period when obligations are completed before Nov. 1.<\/p>\n<p>Tokyo\u2019s package reaches well beyond crypto. Japan also restricted exports to four entities outside Russia and Belarus, placed 35 vessels under controls covering specified services and financing, and expanded restrictions on goods capable of strengthening Russia\u2019s industrial base. Garantex is the odd duck in the bunch, a crypto exchange sitting amid factories, defense companies, and ships.<\/p>\n<p>Japan\u2019s listing also doesn\u2019t name <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/sanctioned-exchange-grinex-hit-by-13-7m-hack-blames-foreign-intelligence-services\/\">the sanctioned exchange Grinex<\/a>, freeze crypto sitting beyond Japanese jurisdiction, or somehow rewind the billions that moved through Garantex after its first sanctions designation. That leaves an awkward arithmetic behind the paperwork. Authorities can sanction a name, seize a website, and freeze balances. The harder problem begins when the people behind the name have already packed their bags.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/regulation-and-legal\/japans-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-hits-garantex-with-asset-freeze\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Japan froze Garantex on Oct. 2, adding crypto to a broader Russia sanctions package. Elliptic says Garantex processed over $60 billion after U.S. sanctions landed in 2022. Treasury says Garantex staff shifted customer deposits to successor exchange Grinex. Japan Freezes an Exchange That Already Got the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":79076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}