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The U.S. Secret Service , working with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies , has taken down and seized the website of Garantex , a Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of being associated with darknet markets and ransomware cyber-terrorist .
On Thursday , the prescribed Garantex website was replaced with a notice saying the exchange ’s domain has been seize by the Secret Service following a warranty by the U.S. Attorney ’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia .
This is the late activity occupy by westerly governments against the Moscow - found central .
Last calendar month , the European Union also sanction Garantex as , sayingit is “ tight associated with EU - sanctioned Russian banks . ” This was part of a package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine .
In 2022,the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Garantex , aver that more than $ 100 million in minutes done on the exchange “ are tie in with illicit actor and darknet markets , ” including the notorious Russian ransomware gang Conti , and the darknet market Hydra .
Nate Herring , a voice for the U.S. Secret Service , confirm to TechCrunch in a statement that the agency “ seized website demesne associated with the administration and operation of Russian cryptocurrency interchange , Garantex as part of an ongoing investigation , ” while declining to provide further remark .
The takedown notice , see by TechCrunch , said that the operation was conduct in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice , the Federal Bureau of Investigation , Europol , the Dutch National Police , the German Federal Criminal Police Office ( Bundeskriminalamt or BKA ) , the Frankfurt General Prosecutor ’s Office , the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation , and the Estonian National Criminal Police .
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TechCrunch reach out to all these organizations for comment . At the time of composition , only the FBI respond , go down to comment .
TechCrunch also contact out to Garantex via the official email addresses listed on the site before the seizure , as well as through the company ’s Telegram account . Garantex did not respond to these messages .
TechCrunch verified the website ictus observation by analyse Garantex ’s cyberspace - facing domain of a function records . As of Thursday , Garantex ’s vane demesne is now sharpen to host bang to be control by the Secret Service . The same host is also host to several other web site seizure notices carried out by the Secret Service in late years .
The decision came after stablecoin issuer Tether freeze $ 28 million Charles Frederick Worth of its cryptocurrency on Garantex .
“ We have bad tidings , ” Garantex wrote . “ We are fighting and will not give up ! Please note that all [ Tether ] in Russian wallets is currently under threat . ”
