On August 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated cryptocurrency exchange Garantex Europe OU and Grinex, another cryptocurrency exchange that was reportedly established to serve as Garantex’s successor. According to OFAC, Garantex was originally designated Garantex in 2022 pursuant to Executive Order 14024, for operating in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation. OFAC’s recent designation of Garantex related to its central role in facilitating malicious cyber-enabled activities, including more than $100 million in transactions for ransomware actors and other cybercriminals since the exchange was founded in 2019. According to OFAC, Garantex has become the exchange of choice for cybercriminals. OFAC also designated three Garantex executives – Sergey Mendeleev, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky – and six partner companies that are based in Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic.
The new designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13694, as amended by EO 14144, for engaging in cyber-enabled activities originating outside of the United States that threaten the national security, foreign policy or the economic health and stability of the United States. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
On the same day, the U.S. Department of State announced two related rewards totaling up to $6 million that were offered under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program. The reward includes up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mara Serda, Garantex’s Chief Commercial Officer, and up to $1 million for other key leaders of Garantex.
OFAC also reported that, on March 6, 2025, the United States partnered with German and Finnish authorities to disrupt Garantex’s operations by seizing its web domain and freezing more than $26 million in cryptocurrency under its control. On the following day, the U.S. Department of Justice also unsealed indictments against Mira Serda and another Garantex executive Alekseij Besciokov for allegedly operating a multibillion-dollar crypto money laundering service. Besciokov was reportedly arrested in India shortly after the indictments were unsealed. In response to these disruptive measures, Garantex reportedly shifted its customer base and funds to its successor exchange, Grinex, in an effort to continue its operations.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | U.S. Department of State Press Statement