Garantex, a licensed Russian crypto exchange, may encourage other companies to emulate that method. The new report details the relationship between Abcex and Aexbit. This could be a rebrand to avoid legal consequences.
TRM Labs shared the report with Beincrypto and shared the exclusive commentary from Ari Redbord, the global head of policy and government affairs. The company suspects that Aexbit and Garantex are directly linked, but there is no solid evidence.
Does Garantex stimulate exchanges?
TRM Labs is struggling to analyze Crypto Scam Supercycle’s crime trends in 2025, and its latest report is highly concerned. Specifically, it argues that Garantex, a high-risk crypto exchange, has taught valuable lessons in avoiding sanctions on other illegal crypto platforms.
“Garantex’s Takedown was a groundbreaking enforcement action, but it shows us something important. Not only does it not disappear, it will adapt. What we’re looking at now is a reused playbook.
What exactly does this mean? Garantex went mostly underground after US sanctions and several arrests, but the exchange resumed under a fresh name. The new company, Grinex, shared many on-chain transactions, code and other assets with Garantex.
This made experts believe the company was a new front in money laundering. Transactions on the A7A5, a Stablecoin backed by Kyrgyzstan’s Ruble, helped solidify these connections. TRM Labs is not convinced that the new crime exchange is directly involved with Garantex, but uses a similar method.
Tactics are spreading among illegal actors
Specifically, the company tracked Abcex, a shuttered exchange, and Aexbit tracked potential brands.
The exchange service was opened with the same user interface shortly after Abcex was temporarily shuttered during a DDOS attack.
TRM Labs is suspected of Aexbit restarting to avoid legal consequences, just as Garantex created a successor exchange.
Abcex is said to be linked to illegal gambling and terrorist financing, and TRM Labs has found it is spending in collaboration with “clean” Aexbit. The new company also has tangent connections to Garantex, but they are not that sure.
Expense link between exchanges. Source: TRM Lab
In short, it doesn’t really matter whether this new exchange is directly affiliated with Garantex. Importantly, these tactics are becoming more widespread among illegal actors.
Cybersecurity experts are already worried that criminals are learning from each other more effectively than criminals.
In his final comments, Redboard generally seemed to share these horrors.
“For law enforcement and compliance teams, this emphasizes the need to monitor actions and infrastructure, not just names,” Redboard concluded.
If the community prevents money laundering and fights criminals, we need to learn from these tactics as well.
The high-risk platform is copying the authorized Russian exchange.
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