A new report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic alleges that five crypto exchanges with operational or financial ties to Russia are helping sanctioned entities move funds across borders beyond traditional banking scrutiny.
Elliptic said these platforms enable ruble-to-crypto conversions and use wallet rotation, peer-to-peer trading and shared custody structures to obscure flows linked to targets sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Bitpapa, which was sanctioned by OFAC in March 2024, sends about 9.7% of its outgoing crypto to sanctioned entities including roughly 5% to the exchange Garantex, while managing constantly rotating wallet addresses to evade transaction monitoring systems.
ABCeX, operating from Moscow’s Federation Tower, has processed at least $11 billion in crypto and employs wallet-hiding strategies while sending funds to Garantex and Aifory Pro after converting rubles into digital assets for cross-border transfers.
Exmo, which publicly claimed to have exited the Russian market after selling its regional arm to Exmo.me, continues to share identical custodial wallet infrastructure between its Western-facing and Russian-facing platforms, conducting more than $19.5 million in direct transactions with sanctioned entities.