Grinex’s reach expands to $1.66B despite history of sanctions
Grinex, a cryptocurrency exchange suspected to be the successor to the sanctioned Garantex, has moved over $1.66 billion in crypto through various exchanges, despite warnings from Global Ledger. Garantex's operations were disrupted by authorities in March, leading to a shift to Grinex. As of late May, Global Ledger reported $2.41 billion in transactional exposure linked to Grinex, with significant flows in Tron-based USDt. Compliance firm Bitrace noted that 70% of potentially illicit stablecoin transactions occurred on the Tron network in 2024. Some exchanges have been notified of suspicious fund flows from Grinex, but responses have varied. Garantex, sanctioned by the US and EU, allegedly processed $96 billion in transactions since 2019 and has connections to ongoing illicit activities. Regulatory measures are evolving, but challenges remain as illicit actors exploit regulatory gaps.
