The terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th was partially financed through cryptocurrency using the popular ruble cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing data from the analytical company Elliptic.
On the eve of the invasion of Israel, digital wallets controlled by the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad" group received transactions totaling over $93 million. Researchers claim that a similar financing scheme was used by HAMAS.
In June, the total transaction volume on the platform amounted to approximately $865 million, which is three times higher than in April 2022 when the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Garantex.
A representative from the U.S. Treasury stated to journalists that the department is exploring ways to implement additional measures against those using Garantex for cross-border transfers. The public relations director of the cryptocurrency exchange, Yevgenia Burova, denied all allegations against the platform, asserting that the exchange's leadership is intolerant of money laundering.
Garantex, the cryptocurrency exchange, was registered in Estonia in 2019. Two years later, its co-founder Stanislav Drugalev died in Dubai under unclear circumstances. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the cryptocurrency exchange moved its IT infrastructure to Russia and became the main channel for withdrawing funds from the country. Its office is located in the "Federation" tower in Moscow City.
Today, Garantex has approximately 100,000 users. Despite U.S. sanctions, the cryptocurrency exchange continues to be the most popular platform for trading in rubles.
