“The Swiss Blockchain Analytics Firm Said It Found a Trove of Off and on-Chain Data to Suggest Grinex is a direct Successor to Garantex.”, – WRITE: www.coindesk.com
According to a new report from Swiss Blockchain Analytics Firm Global Ledger, A Slew of on And Off-Chain Data Indicates that Grinex is a direct Successor to Garantex. Some Liquidity from Garantex, Including All of Garantex’s Holdings of A Ruble-Backed Stablecoin Called A7A5, Has Already Been Moved to Grinex-Controlled Wallets.
Global Ledger Ceo Lex Fisun Told Coindesk that, in addition to on -chain Data Connecting Garantex to Grinex, There Have Been Numeros Off-Chenain Indications of the Two Exchanges Are. Fisun Pointed to the Rapid Growth of Grinex, Which He Said Had Surpassed $ 40 Million in Volume in Just Two Weeks, As Well As A Host of Social Media Ties Between.
Thought Other Major Blockchain Analytics Companies, Including Trm Labs and CHAINALYSIS, HAVE YET to CONFIRM GLOBAL LEDGER’S FININGS, CHAINALYSIS ‘Head of National Security Intellig. HAD SEEN SEVERAL INDICATORS THAT GRINEX WAS LIKELY to be the Rebrand of Garantex.
Fierman Pointed to A Recent Telegram Comment from Sergey mendeleev, One of the Original Founders of Garantex, Announting The Creation of Grinex and Claiming Any Similary Followed by Two Crying Laughing Emojis. Both Fierman and Fisun Told Coindesk That Were Were Numeroous Reports of Garantex Users Going to Grantex’s In-Person Offices in European Both Also Pointed Out the Similarities in the Two Platforms’ User Interfaces.
Thought The Evidence is Certainly Compelling, Fierman SAID THAT UNTIL CHAINALSIS Completes ITS Review of Grinex’s Infrastructure, IT Cannot Definitively Validate.
But, if grinx is, in fact, a rebrand of Garantex, It Woundn’ Be the First Time That A Santioned Exchange Remade ITSELF AFTER A SHUTDOWN. In 2017, Russian Crypto Exchange BTC-E Was Taken Down by American Law Enforcement, and Subsequently Rebranded As Wex. Wex Didn’t Last Long Thought-It Shuttered A Year Later Due to International Conflict and In-Fighting Among Remaining Leadership. Similarly, Sancytoned Russian Exchange Suex Rebranded As Chatex, and Was Subsequently Sanctioned Again.
The Trouble with Sanctions
The Fast Revival of Garantex Demonstrates the Challenge of Sanctions, Especiality Against Criminal Operations Like Non-Complicant Exchanges, Darknet MarketPlaces and Ransomware Detection.
“Sanctions Evasion is Going to Happen,” Fieerson Said. “Because if you’re sanctioneded, you aren’t just going to hold that you can no longer conduct any financial transactions. You are going to look to avoid. Companies, Creating New Crypto Wallets – and the Larger the Operation, and The More Prominent, The More Technical Advanced You’d To Be To To Actorally Make It Work. ”
Feirson Said this Problem Isn’t Unique to Crypto, But Crypto-Related Sanctions Offer Law Enforcement A Unique Opportunity To Follow The Money After Sanifications are.
“The Unique Aspect To The Blockchain Is That Is Transparent and Immutable, and So What HapPens Who A Company Gets Shut Down is a Lot More Examined,“ Fierson Said. “There’s A Lot More to Examine On-Chain. Garantex Gets Shut Down, Their Tether Holdings Get Seized, But That Doesn’t Stop Them From MOVING Other Assets. There’s Optone Myn. Post-Office Shutdown. ”
A hydra-like Network of Potential Successors
WHETHER GRINEX IS GANTEX 2.0 OR NOT, THERE Are A Number of Other Non-Complicant Russia Crypto Exchanges Eager and Willing to Take Its Place.
ARI RedBord, Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, Told Coindesk that It Was Simply “Too Early” to DEFINITIVELY assessa the relationship Between GrineEx and GaraneEx. “That Said, It is Clear that Other High-Risk Non-Complicant Exchanges Will Try to Fill The Illicit Finance Void Left by Garantex,“ He Added.
A Recent Client Report from TRM Labs Named Several Possible Successors, Including High-Risk Russian Exchanges AbcEx and Keine-Exchange.
Garantex take down
Garantex Was Disaneled by International Law Enforcement from The Us, Germany and Finland in a Joint Operation Earlier this MONTH, WHICH Seized Its Domain and Servers.
The US Treasury’s Department of Foreign Asset Control (ofac) FIRST SANCIMified the Exchange In 2022, Accking It of Knowing Facilitation Money Launding for Ransomware Markets Like Hydra.
According to Court Documents, Garantex’s Clientele Also Included North Korea’s State-Santioned Hacking Squad the Lazarus Group, Which Was Behind Theater $ 1.4 Billion BYACHCH HACK Service to Evade Sanctions After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine.
Two of Garantex’s Operators, Lithuanian National and Russian Resident Aleksej Besciokov and Russia Citizen and United Arab Emirates Resident of ALEKSANDR MIRASEANSAANDR MIRADA HAERDA HAERDA HAERDA HAERDA Conspiracy in Connection With Their Work with Garantex. Besciokov Was Arrested While Vacation with His Family in India Earlier this MONTH, AND IS EXPECTED TO BE EXTRADITED TO THE Us to Face Charges.
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