According to a report by Elliptic, cryptocurrency exchanges that maintain operational or financial ties with Russia continue to help circumvent international sanctions.

These platforms provide transaction pathways that allow Russian entities to make cross-border payments shielded from traditional banking oversight by converting rubles into cryptocurrencies.

Bitpapa, sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in March 2024, sends approximately 9.7% of its cryptocurrency outgoings to OFAC-sanctioned targets, including 5% to the sanctioned exchange Garantex.

ABCEX processed at least $11 billion in cryptocurrency from its office in Moscow’s Federation Tower, formerly occupied by Garantex.

Exmo claims to have withdrawn from the Russian market, but it still shares wallet custody infrastructure between its Western- and Russian-facing platforms. The company conducts direct transactions with sanctioned entities worth more than $19.5 million.

 

Bitpapa and ABCeX Use Crypto Wallet Rotation to Evade Traceability

Bitpapa, a peer-to-peer exchange registered as a company in the UAE, primarily targets Russian users who exchange rubles for cryptocurrencies.

Blockchain analysis reveals that the platform manages digital wallets to evade sanctions by constantly changing addresses.

This prevents transaction monitoring systems from identifying Bitpapa as the counterparty and obscures the origin of Russian funds.

ABCeX manages ruble-to-cryptocurrency trading via order book and peer-to-peer trading from the Federation Tower in Moscow.

The trading platform employs wallet obfuscation strategies to prevent cryptocurrency transactions from being linked to the service. ABCeX has sent funds to Garantex and Aifory Pro, which specialize in services for converting fiat currency to cryptocurrency.

Financial currencies, including rubles, are converted to cryptocurrency through these services before being transferred across borders without intermediaries.

The assets can then be converted back to the local currency through brokers or cryptocurrency exchanges abroad. Many of these platforms maintain nominal registrations outside of Russia, while at the same time facilitating massive trading operations linked to sanctioned entities.

 

Exmo Shares Wallet Architecture Across Separate Platforms

Exmo claimed it would exit the Russian market following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by selling its regional operations to Exmo.me.

Blockchain analysis contradicts this geographical operational separation, showing that Exmo.com and Exmo.me still share the same custodial wallet infrastructure.

Cryptocurrencies deposited on either platform are pooled into the same hot wallet addresses, and withdrawals for both platforms are issued from identical addresses.

This shared infrastructure demonstrates no real operational separation and allows for the commingling of funds from the Russia-oriented platform with the Western-oriented entity. Exmo has conducted transactions with Grinex, Grinex, and Chatex.

Rapira, an exchange registered in Georgia with an office in Moscow, facilitates ruble-based trading and has participated in direct cryptocurrency transactions with Grinex totaling over $72 million.

According to reports, Moscow authorities raided Rabera's offices as part of an investigation into capital flight to Dubai.

Aifory Pro operates in Moscow, Dubai, and Turkey, acting as a "foreign economic activity facilitator" for international trade between Russia and China.