Catenaa, Sunday, March 01, 2026-A network of five cryptocurrency exchanges linked to Russia is enabling sanctioned entities to bypass international restrictions, according to a report released Saturday by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
The findings highlight ongoing gaps in enforcement following the U.S. crackdown on Garantex in March 2025.
Of the five exchanges identified, only Bitpapa is officially sanctioned. The peer-to-peer platform’s outgoing crypto flows to sanctioned targets total roughly 9.7%, and it frequently rotates wallet addresses to avoid detection.
The other exchanges, including ABCeX, Aifory Pro, Exmo, and Rapira, remain unsanctioned but process high-volume transactions enabling Russian users to access financial services blocked under international law.
ABCeX, based in Moscow’s Federation Tower, has reportedly processed at least $11 billion in crypto, with large volumes routed through Garantex and Aifory Pro. Exmo, which claimed to exit Russia in 2022, continues to share custodial wallet infrastructure with Exmo.me, facilitating $19.5 million in transactions with sanctioned entities.
Rapira, incorporated in Georgia but operating in Moscow, moved $72 million to Grinex, while Aifory Pro enables payments to blocked services using USDT-funded virtual cards and has transferred nearly $2 million to an Iranian exchange.
Analysts say the Garantex shutdown dispersed the sanctions evasion network rather than eliminating it. Illicit crypto activity tied to sanctions reached record levels in 2025, with Chainalysis reporting $154 billion in transactions and TRM Labs estimating $158 billion.
Russia is preparing new crypto regulations to license domestic platforms, but officials admit sanctions cannot fully block access to the crypto market.
