U.S. officials accused Garantex, Grinex, A7A5 token issuers and executives of laundering ransomware proceeds and evading sanctions.

What to know:

The U.S. Treasury's sanctions watchdog imposed sanctions on companies and individuals linked to the Russian ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 and shuttered exchange Garantex.Garantex, which processed over $100 million in illicit transactions, was shut down, leading to the creation of Grinex to continue operations.The A7A5 token, backed by sanctioned Russian institutions, was used to bypass international sanctions, processing $1 billion in transactions daily.