Sanctioned Russian-linked crypto exchange shuts down after $13 million cyberattack

Prefer on Google by Lucy Pakhnyuk Illustration of computer code over the Kremlin in Moscow, reflecting cybersecurity themes. (Anton Petrus / Getty Images) A sanctioned cryptocurrency exchange with ties to Russia said April 16 it has shut down operations after a cyberattack resulted in the theft of more than 1 billion rubles (13.1 million dollars) in assets. Grinex, based in Kyrgyzstan but linked to Russia, announced the closure in a statement posted on its Telegram channel. The exchange was sanctioned last year by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. In the statement, Grinex accused "foreign intelligence services" from unfriendly states of being involved in the cyberattack , though it did not provide evidence. The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify the claim. "The digital footprints and nature of the attack indicate an unprecedented level of resources and technologies available exclusively to entities of unfriendly states," the exchange said. "According to preliminary data, the attack was coordinated with the aim of causing direct harm to Russia's financial sovereignty," it added. When the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on Grinex last year, it said the exchange had been created to support sanctions evasion efforts. According to the Treasury, Grinex accounts used the A7A5 token, a ruble-backed digital asset developed for customers of a Russian firm that provides cross-border settlement platforms used to bypass sanctions. That firm, A7 Limited Liability Company, and its subsidiaries, are linked to high-profile Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor , a known ally of the Kremlin, as well as the sanctioned Russian bank Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company. Shor reportedly used the firm to finance election interference targeting Moldova's parliamentary elections last year. Since 2022, Russia has increasingly turned to cryptocurrency infrastructure to support foreign trade after being cut off from the SWIFT system as part of Western sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine.