Japan sanctions Garantex, freezing assets of exchange tied to $96B in crypto transactions

Japan has added Garantex to its sanctions list. Assets tied to the Moscow-based crypto exchange are now frozen, and payments and capital transactions with it are restricted.

Garantex has already been sanctioned by Washington, sanctioned by Brussels, and raided by an international law enforcement operation. Tokyo is the newest name on the list of governments that want nothing to do with it.

What Japan actually did

The measures took effect on October 2, 2026, as part of an expanded round of sanctions against Russia.

Garantex landed on Japan’s asset freeze list alongside 32 other entities and nine individuals. It is one crypto exchange in a package that is mostly about Russia’s war economy.

The package also extends to shipping. Japan introduced service and financing restrictions on 35 vessels linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Several of the other designated entities sit squarely in Russia’s defense sector. They include Tulamashzavod and Motovilikhinskiye Zavody, along with several individuals connected to major defense conglomerates.

The Garantex designation does not come with fresh accusations. Japan’s action extends restrictions already in place against the exchange rather than building a new case.

The move brings Japan into line with the United States and the European Union. Both targeted Garantex over alleged evasion of international sanctions and alleged facilitation of illicit financial activity.

A long record of enforcement

Garantex was founded in 2019. Since April of that year, it has processed at least $96 billion in transactions.

In early 2022, Garantex lost its Estonian license over anti-money laundering deficiencies.

Later in 2022, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the exchange.

The European Union followed with its own sanctions in 2025. In March 2025, an international law enforcement operation seized Garantex’s operational infrastructure. That included domains and servers located in Germany and Finland, and more than $26 million in assets were frozen.

In August 2025, US authorities sanctioned Grinex, an exchange they deemed Garantex’s alleged successor, along with three Garantex executives.

What this means

Operationally, Japan’s designation probably changes less than the headlines suggest. Garantex’s business was already disrupted by the 2025 seizures, and there is no immediate market or trading data tied to the exchange to measure any fresh impact.

For crypto businesses with any exposure to Japan, the change is concrete. Compliance teams now have another sanctions list to screen wallets and counterparties against, and links to Garantex carry Japanese legal risk on top of existing US and EU exposure.

The defense-sector names in the same package are a reminder of where Garantex sits in policymakers’ thinking. Tokyo grouped a crypto exchange with weapons manufacturers and shadow-fleet tankers.

The open question is follow-through. Washington has already moved against Grinex, the alleged successor platform, and the executives behind Garantex. Whether Japan and other jurisdictions extend their own lists to cover successor entities will show whether this coordination can keep pace with platforms that rebrand faster than sanctions lists are updated.