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20/03/25
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Crypto Rebirth: Garantex Resurfaces as Grinex, Continues Alleged Money Laundering
A recently shuttered cryptocurrency exchange, Garantex, appears to have resurfaced under a new identity as Grinex, allegedly continuing operations related to laundering substantial amounts of ruble-backed stablecoins. According to findings published by a Swiss blockchain analytics firm, the operators behind Garantex have reportedly transferred liquidity and customer deposits to this new exchange.
The analytics firm asserts that there are clear onchain and offchain connections between Grinex and Garantex. Their report, released on March 19, highlights a detailed examination of fund movements, including the transfer of a significant amount of liquidity known as A7A5 as well as the use of single-use wallets linked to Garantex. This data indicates direct ties between the two exchanges, with Garantex laundered over $60 million worth of A7A5 stablecoins sent to Grinex accounts.
The process of laundering these funds involved a method of burning and minting, which allowed Garantex to create new coins from a source address that had a clean transaction history. Reports indicate that customers have been visiting offices in person to transfer funds between Garantex and Grinex, reinforcing the existence of this operational continuity.
Even before the recent scrutiny, Garantex had faced severe regulatory backlash; the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on it in April 2022 for money laundering activities. Subsequent efforts by the US Department of Justice, in collaboration with authorities in Germany and Finland, led to the freezing of Garantex’s domains, which were alleged to have handled approximately $96 billion in illicit funds since its inception in 2019.
Just days after Garantex’s operational halt on March 6, related arrests included that of a key individual associated with the exchange, who was taken into custody on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, further complicating the landscape for these crypto operations. The emerging situation around Grinex and its connections to Garantex highlights ongoing concerns about the resilience of illicit financial operations within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
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