Japan has placed the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex under an asset freeze as part of a broader package of restrictions tied to the war in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on October 2, 2026.
The measures were adopted under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, following a Cabinet understanding titled “Asset Freeze for individuals and entities of the Russian Federation and other measures.”
Tokyo said the steps were taken in view of the international situation surrounding Ukraine, in line with actions by other major governments, and with the aim of supporting international efforts toward a settlement of the conflict.
Under the new designation, asset-freeze rules apply to 33 Russian entities and nine individuals named in a ministry notice issued the same day.
Garantex Europe OU, the corporate vehicle associated with the exchange and listed under the Garantex name, is among those entities.
The official appendix identifies addresses in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, including the Federation East Tower in Moscow City.
It is the only cryptocurrency trading platform named in this round of additions.
For the listed parties, Japan is applying a permission system to payments and to capital transactions.
The capital-transaction controls cover contracts of deposit, trust, and money loans.
In practical terms, banks, payment firms, and other persons in Japan generally need prior authorization before moving funds to, or entering those specified financial arrangements with, the designated entities and individuals.
The government has not published any figure for Garantex-linked assets held in Japan, nor has it identified particular wallets in the notice.
The package extends beyond the exchange.
Export prohibitions are being introduced against four specific entities based in countries other than Russia and Belarus, and service-transaction controls will apply to 35 named vessels.
For those ships, permission will be required for specified services set out in a Ministry of Finance notice, and for capital transactions—money loans and debt guarantees—connected with their sale, purchase, lease, or charter.
Those vessel measures apply to performance of obligations or provision of services on or after October 2, 2026, with a limited exception for obligations based on contracts concluded before that date and carried out before November 1, 2026.
Japan is also adding further bans on exports to Russia of goods that could strengthen the country’s industrial capacity.
The designation brings Japanese controls closer to restrictions already imposed elsewhere.
United States authorities sanctioned Garantex in 2022 over alleged involvement in illicit finance and sanctions evasion, and European and British measures followed.
Law enforcement actions in 2025 disrupted the exchange’s domains and servers.
Reporting since then has described customer activity shifting toward successor platforms and related ruble-linked instruments, so Japan’s listing closes a compliance gap on an entity whose core infrastructure has already been impaired, rather than freezing a still-operating domestic book of crypto.
For licensed Japanese exchanges and financial institutions, the practical effect is a screening obligation: dealings that fall within the payment and capital-transaction rules now require government permission.
Direct exposure is expected to be limited, given the earlier disruption of the platform, but the listing still matters for sanctions compliance, correspondent banking, and any residual corporate or payment relationships tied to the named entity.