Authorities in the US and UK are investigating USDT transfers amounting to $20 billion through the Russian exchange Garantex. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing informed sources.
According to these sources, the investigation is part of efforts to combat sanctions evasion.
All stablecoin transactions occurred after April 2022, when Garantex was added to the US sanctions list.
Tether, on its part, stated that it is cooperating with law enforcement to ensure compliance. Sources noted that the stablecoin issuer has not suggested any wrongdoing.
Tether’s total market capitalization at the time of writing is $104 billion, according to CoinGecko. Thus, US and UK authorities claim that one-fifth of all coins in circulation passed through Garantex.
The new investigation could lead to stricter monitoring of user deposit addresses and Garantex’s counterparties, as well as additional sanctions. This was stated in a comment to ForkLog by Dmitry Machikhin, founder and CEO of BitOK.
“They will pursue and press charges, both real and imagined. We need to be prepared for this and adapt somehow. To start with, we should abandon foreign AML systems in favor of a national standard,” he noted.
According to the expert, this would prevent trading platforms from being linked to Russian users. However, it will not be a cure-all if Garantex is found to be involved in illegal activities.
“If there are any illegal activities—actual crime, not political sanctions—then the consequences could be much more severe, and no AML will save you,” Machikhin concluded.
Anton Shkurenko, a technical consultant for the SmartSwap project, believes that the US traditionally views people outside its borders “as potential criminals.”
“Their decisions affect both platform owners and their clients who have provided their passport data. Asset blocking, including Tether in non-custodial wallets, occurs within US laws, but it is often unclear why you might be accused,” he noted.
As reported by OFAC, in April 2022, an analysis of known Garantex transactions revealed that operations exceeding $100 million were linked to illegal entities and darknet marketplaces. Of these, nearly $6 million came from the Russian hacker group Conti and about $2.6 million from Hydra.
In October 2023, Garantex commented on accusations of “financing Hamas” made in an Elliptic study.