- Greater Russian Cryptocurrency -sted taken down by law enforcement
- Garantex has previously been sanctioned by the EU and USA
- The site reportedly had links to cybercrime and ransomware
Law enforcement authorities from all over the world are assembled to close notorious Russian cryptocurrency -exchange guarantee guarantee, which was popular with cyber criminals, especially ransomware -bands that often use cryptocurrency to launder money gained in ransom -attack.
The Garantex Web site has been taken down and replaced with a message confirming the seizure -with the shutdown, only a few days after the EU sanctioned the site of being “closely linked to the EU -sanctioned Russian banks”.
The US Law Office of the Eastern District Virginia obtained a seizure order for the domain that enabled law enforcement to take down the site. Several agencies are credited in the announcement, including the US Ministry of Justice, Secret Service, the Finnish Poliisi KuskusrikoSpoliisi and the German Bundskriminatamt.
Crypto -Tab
The US government also sanctioned Garantex back in April 2022 after it was linked to criminal activity and dark web markets – including nearly $ 6 million from Russian Ransomware -Band Conti.
Cryptocurrency is a popular tool for cyber criminals as currencies are largely anonymous, non -tracerable and unregulated – without central server or administrator. In fact, it is reported that approx. $ 40 billion value of illegal crypto transactions took place by 2024 and is expected to rise in 2025. Dr. Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of Immuniweb explains;
“While some jurisdictions are willing to blind and easily close their eyes to certain types of illegal activities related to both cyber crime and money laundering, it is almost impossible in the interconnected world to run a fully functional crypto exchange from these” safe gardens “.
“The good news is that we are likely to see even more successful cyber operations from law enforcement authorities by 2025, while the bad news is that cyber criminals will certainly learn the lesson and will soon revive with even more resilient infrastructure to continue their business.”
Via Techcrunch
