Japan has placed the Moscow-based cryptocurrency exchange Garantex on its sanctions list, freezing assets connected to the platform and restricting payments and capital transactions involving it — measures that generally bar individuals and companies under Japanese jurisdiction from handling the exchange's funds or facilitating its transactions.

The designation, effective October 2, 2026, forms part of an expanded round of Japanese sanctions against Russia. It adds Tokyo to a growing roster of jurisdictions — including Washington and Brussels — that have already moved against the exchange, which was also raided by an international law enforcement operation.

What Japan Did

Garantex appeared on Japan's asset freeze list alongside 32 other entities and nine individuals. The package is largely aimed at Russia's war economy and extends to shipping: Japan introduced service and financing restrictions on 35 vessels linked to Russia's "shadow fleet" — the tankers that typically operate with obscured ownership to keep Russian oil moving while evading sanctions.

Several of the other designated entities sit squarely in Russia's defense sector. They include Tulamashzavod and Motovilikhinskiye Zavody, along with several individuals connected to major defense conglomerates.

The Garantex designation does not come with fresh accusations. Rather than building a new case, Japan's action extends restrictions already in place against the exchange, bringing Tokyo into line with the United States and the European Union. Both previously targeted Garantex over alleged evasion of international sanctions and alleged facilitation of illicit financial activity.

A Long Record of Enforcement

Garantex was founded in 2019 and has processed at least $96 billion in transactions since April of that year.

In early 2022, the exchange lost its Estonian license over anti-money laundering deficiencies. Later that year, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Garantex, and the European Union followed with its own sanctions in 2025.

In March 2025, an international law enforcement operation seized Garantex's operational infrastructure. That included domains and servers located in Germany and Finland, and more than $26 million in assets were frozen.

In August 2025, US authorities sanctioned Grinex — an exchange they deemed Garantex's alleged successor — along with three Garantex executives.

What It Means for Compliance

In operational terms, Japan's designation may change less than the headlines suggest. Garantex's business was already disrupted by the 2025 seizures, and there is no immediate market or trading data tied to the exchange to measure any fresh impact.

For crypto businesses with any exposure to Japan, however, the change is concrete. Compliance teams now have another sanctions list to screen wallets and counterparties against, and links to Garantex carry Japanese legal risk on top of existing US and EU exposure.
The defense-sector names in the same package are a reminder of where Garantex sits in policymakers' thinking: Tokyo grouped a crypto exchange with weapons manufacturers and shadow-fleet tankers.

The open question is follow-through. Washington has already moved against Grinex, the alleged successor platform, and the executives behind Garantex. Whether Japan and other jurisdictions extend their own lists to cover successor entities will show whether sanctions coordination can keep pace with platforms that rebrand faster than sanctions lists are updated.