A newly published report from blockchain analysis firm Elliptic has revealed that five cryptocurrency exchanges linked to Russia offer ways to bypass Western financial sanctions. The report stated that these platforms carry out large volumes of transactions outside the control of the traditional financial system.
Five Platforms Accused of Sanctions Violation
Among the exchanges Elliptic reviewed, only peer-to-peer crypto platform Bitpapa is on the US sanctions list. In March 2024, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury officially blacklisted Bitpapa on the grounds that it was instrumental in evading sanctions. Approximately 10 percent of transactions originating from Bitpapa were found to be linked to sanctioned parties. It was also stated that the platform frequently changes wallet addresses to avoid tracking.
Findings on ABCeX, Exmo and Other Companies
Moscow-based ABCeX, which is not on the sanctions list, has carried out crypto transactions worth at least 11 billion dollars, according to calculations. It was determined that this exchange directed large amounts of transfers to Garantex and Aifory Pro, which were previously closed by the USA. It is known that Garantex also operated in the same building in the past.
Although crypto exchange Exmo announced in 2022 that it was selling its operations in Russia after the war in Ukraine, according to Elliptic’s analysis, the platform’s operational connection with Exmo.me continues and the storage infrastructure and hot wallets of the two systems are shared. According to the data, a total of $19.5 million was transferred between Exmo and the sanctioned exchanges. It was determined that the company’s transactions were directed to sanctioned platforms such as Garantex, Grinex and Chatex.
Another platform that stood out in the report was Rapira, which is registered in Georgia but has an office in Moscow. It was reported that the company transferred a total of over $72 million in transactions directly to Grinex, and that its headquarters in Russia was raided by the authorities at the end of 2025.
Finally, it was stated that the company named Aifory Pro offers cash-crypto transactions in Moscow, Dubai and Türkiye and provides its users with virtual payment cards funded with USDT. It was claimed that this method provided access to services restricted by Western companies. Elliptic also announced that it monitored a transfer of approximately $2 million from this platform to the Iran-based Abantether exchange.
Sanction Pressure and Change in Markets
Elliptic stated that the restrictions imposed on the network shifted activity to different platforms rather than stopping it completely. After the closure of Garantex, which was targeted with sanctions in 2025, it was observed that the transaction volume turned to other exchanges. According to data from other analysis companies, over $150 billion was transferred to illegal crypto addresses in 2025.
It was also stated that BitRiver and Intelion, operating in Russia’s industrial crypto mining sector, control more than half of the country’s legal market, generating a total revenue of $ 200 million in 2024. These data indicate that crypto activities continue in the sanctions environment.
Elliptic analysts pointed out that the imposed sanctions could direct the transaction volume to different channels rather than reducing it.
