According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CoinDesk, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced today sanctions against multiple companies, exchanges, and executives related to the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex and the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5.
According to OFAC, Garantex is suspected of handling over $100 million in ransomware and dark web transactions. After its network domain was seized and $26 million in funds were frozen, the relevant parties quickly established Grinex to continue operations.
The A7A5 stablecoin is issued by the Kyrgyz company Old Vector and supported by the Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank. Blockchain analytics companies indicate that the daily trading volume of this stablecoin has reached $1 billion, with a cumulative trading volume exceeding $51 billion, and it is considered an important tool for evading sanctions.
This sanction action is coordinated and executed by the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, aimed at cutting off the channels of digital assets used for ransomware attacks and evading sanctions.
