US to impose tough sanctions against Russian cryptocurrency exchange

Several U.S. congressmen have called on the Treasury Secretary to impose additional sanctions against the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.

The parliamentarians insist that despite the restrictions, payments in USDT stablecoins totaling $ 20 billion have been made through the platform.

Gabe Amo, Brad Sherman, and Jerry Connolly sent an official request to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, expressing concern about the exchange’s active assistance to Russian companies that use cryptocurrencies to evade economic sanctions.

Members of Congress requested information from the Treasury Secretary on how the department is fighting against the circumvention of sanctions by the crypto exchange, and what role USDT stablecoins play in this. The parliamentarians called for the use of additional tools to prevent Garantex from conducting transactions with USDT or other assets.

In the spring of 2022, the U.S. Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC) added Garantex to the sanctions list «for willful failure to comply with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws.»