U.S. Offers Up to $6 Million Reward for Information on Executives of Defunct Exchange Garantex

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a major financial reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of former executives of the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex. The platform, officially registered in Estonia in 2019, became a hub for cybercriminals, money laundering, and illicit financial activity, according to U.S. authorities.

Million-Dollar Rewards for Whistleblowers Through the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), Washington has allocated $6 million in rewards. Up to $5 million is offered for information leading to the capture of Aleksandr Mira Serda, a Russian citizen and co-owner and commercial director of Garantex. An additional $1 million is set aside for other key executives listed under U.S. sanctions.

Exchange Under Sanctions and OFAC Scrutiny The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated both Garantex and its successor platform Grinex as entities helping criminals evade sanctions. Earlier this year, Tether blocked wallets linked to the exchange and froze USDT assets. European authorities also joined the crackdown. German and Finnish agencies seized Garantex’s domains and froze over $26 million in digital assets.

Massive Volumes and Criminal Ties According to reports from the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, between April 2019 and March 2025 Garantex processed transactions worth at least $96 billion. A significant share of those funds was tied to criminal activity, including drug trafficking, ransomware, extortion, and terrorist financing. Authorities estimate that criminals laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through the platform, with many victims in the United States.

How Garantex Operated Founded in late 2019 and registered in Estonia, Garantex conducted most of its operations from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In February 2022, Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) revoked its license due to major anti–money laundering and counter–terrorist financing failures, after wallets tied to illicit activities were identified. Despite sanctions, the exchange continued to operate by developing infrastructure to obscure the origin of its wallets. One notorious case involved Yekaterina Zhdanova, who allegedly converted more than $2 million in bitcoin into USDT using Garantex. She has been charged under a November 2023 executive order for conducting illicit financial operations in Russia.

Indictments and Arrests In March 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled indictments against several Garantex managers, including inspector-general and well-known executive Alexei Besciokov. Besciokov was later arrested in India, while other wanted executives remain at large.

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