- Major Russian cryptocurrency site taken down by law enforcement
- Garantex has previously been sanctioned by the EU and US
- The site allegedly had links to cybercrime and ransomware
Law enforcement agencies from across the world have come together to shut down infamous Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, which was popular amongst cybercriminals, especially ransomware gangs, who often use cryptocurrency to launder money gained in ransom attacks.
The Garantex website has been taken down and replaced with a notice confirming the seizure – with the shutdown comes just days after the EU sanctioned the site for being “closely associated with EU-sanctioned Russian banks”.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia obtained a seizure warrant for the domain, which enabled law enforcement to take down the website. Several agencies are credited in the notice, including the US Department of Justice, Secret Service, the Finnish Poliisi Keskusrikospoliisi, and German Bundeskriminalamt.
Crypto losses
The US Government also sanctioned Garantex back in April 2022, after it was linked to criminal activity and dark web markets – including almost $6 million from Russian ransomware gang Conti.
Cryptocurrency is a popular tool for cybercriminals, as currencies are largely anonymous, untraceable, and unregulated – with no central server or administrator. In fact, it’s been reported that around $40 billion worth of illicit crypto transactions took place in 2024, and is predicted to rise in 2025. Dr. Ilia Kolochenko, CEO at ImmuniWeb explains;
“While some jurisdictions are willingly blind and readily close their eyes to certain types of illicit activities related to both cybercrime and money laundering, operating a fully functional crypto exchange solely from those “safe havens” is virtually impossible in the interconnected world.”
“The good news is that we will probably see even more successful cyber operations by law enforcement agencies in 2025, while the bad news is that cybercriminals will certainly learn the lesson and will very soon resurrect with even more resilient infrastructure to continue their business.”
Via TechCrunch