Japan Slaps Sanctions on Garantex, Shadow Fleet Gets a New Wallpaper 🛳️

Japan has expanded its sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, adding the crypto platform Garantex alongside 33 organizations and nine individuals to its asset-freeze list, according to a joint statement issued Friday by the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The measures restrict payments and capital transactions with the designated parties.

Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, had previously been sanctioned by the US, the EU and other jurisdictions for helping Russian parties circumvent financial restrictions. Japan's new measures also name 35 vessels identified as part of the so-called "shadow fleet" that transports Russian oil and helps Moscow evade existing sanctions, specifically restricting services such as repairs and insurance to those designated ships.

The sanctions are intended to reduce Russia's earnings from crude oil exports, the ministries said. Japan previously sanctioned Garantex in coordination with other jurisdictions, and the latest move formalizes its alignment with those designations.

According to a Cointelegraph report in August 2025, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said Garantex may already have had a contingency plan allowing it to limit the impact of US actions. The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control later sanctioned Garantex a second time, along with its successor, Grinex. TRM Labs said in a report that such sanctions may prove ineffective, as entities like Garantex "appear to prepare contingency plans well in advance of anticipated enforcement measures," enabling them to migrate clients, infrastructure and funds to successor platforms.