Moscow based cryptocurrency exchange, Garantex, is under a microscope for their increasing role as a global channel for illicit funds and money laundering, with connections to terror group Hamas. Garantex was launched in 2019, and has long been popular with criminal groups looking to launder funds. Last year the U.S.Treasury Department sanctioned Garantex and it was placed on the U.S. blacklist, but the crypto exchange is still going. It is estimated that a total of $30 billion has flowed through Garantex in 2022.
At Garantex, customers deposit cash and then receive crypto in the form of stablecoins which helps them move money in and out of the country. The Treasury estimated that hackers, drug traffickers, and other crime groups moved $100 million through the crypto exchange. Russian law enforcement and other authorities have conducted raids of Garantex and look to gain any information on them.