Russia‑Tied Crypto Services Still Dodging Sanctions, Elliptic Warns - Crypto Economy

TL;DR:

• Russia maintains active crypto exchange networks that allow it to circumvent Western sanctions, according to a report by the firm Elliptic.
• Platforms such as Bitpapa, ABCeX, Rapira and Aifory Pro processed billions of dollars with sanctioned entities like Garantex.
• A prior report by TRM Labs revealed that illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins in 2025, with 86% linked to sanctions evasion.

The blockchain analytics firm Elliptic published a report documenting how exchanges linked to Russia continue to facilitate transactions with sanctioned entities, despite the tightening of international regulatory scrutiny. The identified platforms offer routes that allow converting rubles into cryptocurrencies, transferring funds outside the traditional banking system and liquidating positions through brokers abroad.

Among the most relevant cases is Bitpapa, a peer-to-peer platform registered in the United Arab Emirates but primarily oriented toward users in Russia. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned it in March 2024. According to Elliptic, approximately 9.7% of its outgoing flows are directed toward sanctioned entities, including 5% going toward Garantex, the Russian exchange also penalized by Washington. Furthermore, the platforms systematically rotate their wallet addresses to make transaction tracing more difficult.


The Shadow of Garantex in Moscow Tower

ABCeX operates from Moscow’s Federation Tower, the same building that Garantex occupied before being sanctioned. The firm Elliptic estimates that ABCeX processed at least $11 billion in crypto assets, sending flows directly toward Garantex and Aifory Pro. The latter, for its part, offers cash-to-cryptocurrency services in Moscow, Dubai and Türkiye, acts as a payment agent for foreign trade between Russia and China, and markets virtual cards that use USDT balances to access services blocked in Russia such as Airbnb or ChatGPT.

Russia Manages to Bypass Every Barrier

The case of Exmo employs another frequent tactic. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the exchange claimed to have exited the Russian market by transferring its local operations to a separate entity. However, on-chain analysis revealed that both platforms share the same wallet infrastructure, allowing funds from the Russian market to mix with those of the Western entity. Exmo recorded more than $19.5 million in direct transactions with sanctioned entities, including Garantex, Grinex and Chatex.


Rapira, based in Georgia but with an office in Moscow, accumulated more than $72 million in transactions with the sanctioned exchange Grinex. Its Moscow facilities were raided as part of an investigation into alleged capital flight toward Dubai.

Days ago, TRM Labs documented that illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins during 2025, the highest figure in five years, with sanctions evasion accounting for 86% of those flows.