The United States, Germany and Finland suspended the operation of the online platform used by the Russian Garantex cryptocurrency exchange, as the US Department of Justice has announced today, adding that it was also charged with two exchangers.

In the context of coordinated actions, German and Finnish authorities seized servers that hosted Garantex’s functions.

The two managers of the platform, Alexei Besiokov and Alexander Mira Senta, according to Reuters, are accused of conspiracy and money laundering. Besiokov, a resident of Russia and a Lithuanian national, faces additional charges of violating sanctions and operation of a money transfer business, the justice ministry said.

The Stock Exchange has been processing cryptocurrencies worth of at least $ 96 billion since April 2019, the ministry said. “The US Secret Service has seized sectors of websites related to the management and operation of the Russian cryptocurrencies Garantex in the context of continuing research”said Nate Herring, head of US Secret Service public affairs specialist, in a statement without commenting on anything.

Garantex was imposed by the US in April 2022.

The exchange on Thursday said Stablecoin Tether had blocked digital wallets on its platform, forcing it to suspend its operation a few days after it was targeted by EU sanctions.

Research company Blockchain Trm Labs said in posting that Garantex’s suspension “marks a major milestone in the fight against illegal funding”, but warned that exchanges subject to sanctions often try to avoid restrictions by creating new entities.