Russian crypto exchange Garantex has grounded its activities after Tether froze $27 million in USDT funds at the platform. Through its Telegram channel Garantex announced a temporary stoppage due to US and EU sanctions while explaining the fund freeze as the main reason.

The statement from Garantex condemned Tether”s effort to harm the Russian crypto market instead of supporting it. The company declared:

“Tether has entered the war against the Russian crypto market and blocked our wallets worth more than 2.5 billion rubles. We are temporarily suspending all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals, while our entire team solves this problem.”

Tether”s Silence on USDT Freeze Raises Questions

The company that issues USDT (the largest stablecoin with over $140 billion in market value) has not shared official details about their decision. The decision supports worldwide efforts to control how cryptocurrencies help sanctioned people avoid Western banking systems.

The authorities keep sanctioning Garantex because the company supports illegal financial operations. In April 2022 OFAC blocked Garantex operations because they trusted Russian businesses to evade US financial restrictions.

The European Union directly penalized Garantex because the platform had connections to Russian banks previously blocked by EU financial restrictions. This development represents EU historical first since it marked its first time sanctioning a Russian crypto exchange.

US and UK law enforcement agencies keep exploring Garantex operations to find evidence of handling money for sanctioned individuals. Public officials think Garantex helped Russia move money during its political activities.

People worry about Russia”s digital currency market when Garantex must stop working. As financial authorities increase their oversight on sanctioned digital items they examine the stability of USDT coins inside Russia”s financial tools.

These events show how centralized stablecoin issuers gain more power in global financial law enforcement operations. Tether”s new action builds more pressure on the connection between crypto firms and Russia that leads everyone to expect more official actions coming soon.