Japan adds Garantex to Russia sanctions list as asset freeze tightens on crypto and shadow fleet

Japan has expanded its sanctions on Russia, and this time Garantex is on the list. For high-risk payment teams, the practical signal is simple: another major jurisdiction has moved from “watching” Russian-linked crypto infrastructure to restricting payments and capital transactions with it.

1. The Japanese government said on Friday that it added Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex to its asset-freeze list under new sanctions tied to the war in Ukraine. The designation restricts payments and capital transactions with targeted parties, according to a joint statement from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
2. Japan also added 33 organizations and nine individuals linked to Russia to the same asset-freeze list. In the same package, it designated 35 vessels identified as part of the so-called “shadow fleet” carrying Russian oil, and said the measures specifically restrict services including repairs and insurance for those vessels.
3. Garantex was previously sanctioned by the US, the EU and other jurisdictions for helping Russian entities evade financial restrictions. That makes it a familiar name for compliance teams, but the point here is broader: the list of blocked touchpoints around Russian crypto exposure keeps getting longer, and payment controls have to follow that list rather than the marketing language around it.
4. Japan said the sanctions are intended to reduce Russia’s earnings from crude oil exports. Separately, Cointelegraph reported in August 2025 that Garantex may already have had a contingency plan to blunt the impact of US actions, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control then sanctioned Garantex a second time, along with its successor, Grinex.
5. TRM Labs said in a report that entities like Garantex “appear to prepare contingency plans well in advance of anticipated enforcement measures,” allowing them to migrate clients, infrastructure and funds to successor platforms. For PSPs, the operational takeaway is that sanctions risk does not always end when a brand disappears; it can reappear under a new shell, a new venue or a new MID with the same underlying flow.