Elliptic Uncloaks $60B in Illicit Garantex Transactions, Aiding US Takedown

The U.S. Secret Service, supported by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, dismantled sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex and froze $26 million in cryptoassets, authorities announced Friday.

U.S. Secret Service, With Elliptic’s Aid, Dismantles Sanctioned Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex

Elliptic’s data revealed Garantex executed over $60 billion in transactions since the U.S. and EU imposed sanctions in April 2022 allegedly for laundering funds tied to ransomware, darknet markets, and North Korean cyberattacks. Despite efforts to mask its wallet infrastructure, Elliptic’s report claims Garantex’s total transactions exceeded $96 billion, including moves by Russian elites to evade sanctions after the Ukraine invasion.

The blockchain surveillance firm explained that the crypto exchange employed advanced cloaking techniques to evade detection, such as rapidly generating new wallet addresses and leveraging specific privacy tools. Elliptic developed proprietary analytics to identify Garantex-controlled wallets, uncovering transactions predominantly in the stablecoin USDT issued on the Tron blockchain.

This methodology, Elliptic contends, enabled real-time sanctions screening for clients and investigators. Garantex purportedly laundered crypto from high-profile crimes, including $30 million from North Korea’s Lazarus Group-linked Horizon Bridge hack and funds tied to ransomware groups Conti, Lockbit, and Black Basta. It also reportedly facilitated tens of millions in darknet market deals, according to Elliptic’s tracing tools.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) cited Elliptic’s intelligence in its indictment, which highlighted Garantex’s role in aiding Russian oligarchs and illicit actors. The takedown follows recent incidents like the $1.4 billion Bybit theft, underscoring rogue exchanges’ role in global crime financing.

Elliptic emphasized the technological arms race between bad actors and compliance firms, noting other sanctioned entities now mimic Garantex’s tactics. Its tools, the company asserted, remain integrated into crypto businesses’ compliance programs to flag illicit transactions. Elliptic’s news follows Tether freezing millions of USDT held on Garantex, the exchange halting operations, and the U.S. government seizing its website.

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