The past week has been particularly challenging for Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.
On Thursday, the stablecoin issuer Tether restricted access to Garantex’s wallets, which held approximately $28 million in funds belonging to the exchange. Additionally, an international law enforcement operation, led by the U.S. Secret Service, seized Garantex’s official websites. At that time, Garantex did not acknowledge the operation on its official Telegram channels. Instead, the company announced the suspension of all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals.
The following day, Friday, the U.S. Justice Department filed charges against two administrators of the exchange, Aleksej Besciokov and Aleksandr Mira Serda. The charges alleged that the pair facilitated money laundering for cybercriminals and terrorists on their platform. U.S. prosecutors also stated that they had frozen over $26 million in Tether and Bitcoin used for money laundering, providing an explanation for the restriction on Tether wallets.
By Saturday, Garantex had offered its customers a potential solution, albeit with certain conditions.
Contact Us
Are you planning to attend the meeting at Garantex’s office or do you have more information about the exchange? You can securely contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai from a non-work device and network on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. You can also contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.
Without acknowledging the law enforcement actions, Garantex published an announcement on its official Telegram channel stating that it had developed a solution for blocked assets. The company invited customers with a positive account balance to a personal meeting at its Moscow office, according to a machine translation.
Garantex stated that it will begin face-to-face meetings at its office on Monday. The company is asking customers to arrive with the phone linked to their account and access to their email, as they may need to send confirmation codes.
This request from Garantex is unusual, given the high value placed on anonymity in the world of cryptocurrency. Attending a meeting at the offices of a company sanctioned by both the U.S. government and the European Union poses unpredictable risks to customers. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that Garantex will be able to refund its customers.
The exact number of Garantex customers is unclear, but according to the DOJ, the exchange has processed more than $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since 2019. It is likely that Garantex has a large customer base, many of whom do not reside near Moscow.
Garantex did not respond to a request for comment.
Source Link
