Japan has added Garantex, a Moscow-based crypto exchange, to its sanctions list, freezing its assets and restricting payments and capital transactions with the platform. The measures, effective October 2, 2026, are part of an expanded round of sanctions against Russia, alongside 32 other entities, 9 individuals, and 35 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet. Since its founding in 2019, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in transactions, with volumes that already led to the loss of its Estonian license in 2022. Japan’s action aligns with US sanctions in 2022, EU sanctions in 2025, and an international law enforcement operation in March 2025 that seized servers in Germany and Finland and froze over $26 million in assets. For crypto businesses operating in Japan, this designation now adds Japanese legal risk on top of existing US and EU exposure.
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