In the cryptocurrency landscape, the Garantex case has brought to light over 15 million dollars in active reserves of the platform, highlighting how difficult it is to control decentralized financial activities and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Garantex and the cryptocurrency escape: what happened
Global Ledger, a company specialized in Anti-Money Laundering tools for the crypto sector, has detected an Ethereum (ETH) wallet linked to Garantex that started moving large amounts of Ether starting from March 6.
In particular, 2.3 million ETH have been transferred to the Tornado Cash mixer, a tool that allows hiding the traceability of transactions.
This specific portfolio still holds 6.1 million ETH, but these funds remain inactive for now. At the same time, holdings in Bitcoin (BTC) have also been subject to movements.
In fact, about 2.2 BTC have been “bridged” (transferred via a cross-chain bridge) to the TRON network, and subsequently part of these were sent to the Grinex platform.
These movements demonstrate how the liquidity of Garantex is not simply frozen, but is shifting between different blockchain chains and obscure services, in order to evade the restrictions imposed by the authorities.
This dynamic highlights an uncomfortable reality: the free movement of millions of dollars between chains and mixers does not represent a failure of the law, but a failure in the enforcement of sanctions, as highlighted by the Global Ledger report.
On March 6, alongside the suspicious movements, Tether froze 27 million dollars in USDT deposited in wallets linked to Garantex.
This action had an immediate impact, leading the platform to suspend all operations.
In an official statement, Garantex accused Tether of having “declared war on the Russian cryptocurrency market” and of having blocked funds for over 2.5 billion rubles (approximately 27 million dollars).
This episode is part of a context of strong regulatory pressure on Garantex, already under the scrutiny of international authorities.
International sanctions and legal implications
During 2022, more precisely in April, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the first sanctions against Garantex, accused of violating anti-money laundering requirements and other regulations.
Subsequently, on February 24, 2025, the European Union formalized its own restrictive measures against the platform.
These sanctions represent a clear signal of the global mobilization against platforms that do not comply with AML and anti-terrorism regulations.
However, as highlighted by the data that emerged, the measures adopted do not yet seem sufficient to completely block the flow of illicit funds.
On March 12, Garantex announced the arrest of the founder Aleksej Bešciokov while he was on vacation in India. Local authorities are considering his extradition to the United States, where he faces several charges, including conspiracy and money laundering.
This event marks a key moment in the development of the investigations and could pave the way for further legal actions against the management and the operational structure of the platform.
The Garantex case highlights how complex it is to ensure full control over cryptocurrency platforms, especially those that operate with transaction obfuscation techniques like mixers and cross-chain bridges.
The over 15 million dollars in active reserves, part of which are in continuous movement, demonstrate that sanctions alone are not enough.
Consequently, greater coordination is needed between institutions, advanced technological tools, and stricter regulations to limit the risk that such platforms become preferred routes for illicit activities.
The role of AML technologies and the future of regulation
The activity of Global Ledger highlights the importance of specialized tools for monitoring crypto transactions. Solutions like those of Global Ledger offer greater transparency in the otherwise opaque landscape of cryptocurrencies.
However, without an effective enforcement of sanctions and a more incisive international collaboration, the problem of compliance remains critical.
The Garantex case demonstrates that the growth of the crypto sector cannot disregard a system that combines innovation and control. The freezing of Tether funds and the maneuvers of wallets in Ethereum and Bitcoin show the complexity of a decentralized and global system.
For operators, regulators, and investors, the challenge is to find a balance between financial freedom and security.
Consequently, it is essential to invest in effective anti-money laundering technologies, implement cooperation mechanisms between countries, and promote the transparency of platforms, even at the cost of shifting part of the control to new governance models.
Ultimately, the Garantex affair is not just an isolated case, but a wake-up call for the entire cryptocurrency sector, which must decisively address the issue of regulation and legality.
Those who operate or invest in this field should therefore closely monitor regulatory developments and position themselves responsibly to protect their assets and the reputation of the market.
