Podcast: Code Name: Operation Garantex

On the night of 4–5 March 2025, the communication channels between the cyber units of the intelligence agencies of the United States, Germany and Finland were in turmoil. Messages and phone calls come thick and fast. Some immediately suspected a threat to security in the Baltic Sea region: perhaps severed undersea cables, a drone incursion, or even a large-scale cyberattack. None of these were the case. But within a few hours, the US, German and Finnish authorities seized the servers and dismantled the online infrastructure of an enigmatic cryptocurrency exchange, accused of facilitating transactions by criminal and terrorist organisations and of laundering billions of dollars derived from illicit activities. The company is called Garantex. It is an illicit service operating at the heart of international trade, targeting a vital commodity: energy, and in particular liquefied natural gas.

In this new episode of “Code Name”, Claudio Antonelli and Antonio Talia interview industry experts to investigate how money, cryptocurrencies, maritime trafficking and the international energy trade can intertwine in the circumvention of sanctions and opaque finance. Guests include Antonio Leandro, full professor of international law at the University of Bari, a member of international academic societies and an adviser to humanitarian organisations; Gianclaudio Torlizzi, a commodities expert, founder and director of T-Commodity and adviser to the Ministry of Defence; and Andrea Castellaneta, chief executive of Crypfy, a company providing blockchain-based intelligence services for risk management, compliance and fraud prevention.

Since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, LNG – that is, liquefied natural gas – has taken on an increasingly important role in the Italian energy system. Cooled to around 162 degrees below zero, the gas shrinks considerably in volume and can be transported by sea on LNG carriers, before being converted back into a gaseous state at regasification terminals. However, the transport system is not without risks; risks that affect maritime routes and the ability to re-establish the supply chain.

In 2025, Italian gas demand stood at around 63.4 billion cubic metres, whilst LNG imports reached 20.9 billion cubic metres, accounting for around a third of domestic consumption. The Italian system currently comprises five terminals: Panigaglia, Adriatic LNG off the coast of Porto Viro, OLT Toscana off the coast of Livorno, the Piombino FSRU and the Ravenna FSRU. However, to safeguard national security, it is not enough simply to know where the LNG comes from. It is necessary to know who owns the vessel transporting it, who insures it, which intermediaries handle the transaction and where the money ends up.

This is where Operation Garantex comes into the picture. The exchange, founded in 2019 in Estonia but with its operational centre in Moscow, initially dealt with converting roubles into cryptocurrencies. Its history was subsequently marked by various setbacks, including allegations of money laundering and the death in Dubai of one of its founders, Stanislav Drugalev. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Garantex was hit by Western sanctions, leading up to the operation in March 2025. According to the US authorities, however, operations did not cease: part of the infrastructure is said to have been transferred to Grinex, whilst a new digital asset pegged to the rouble is reported to have been used within cross-border financial networks. Some analysts have even pointed out a particular coincidence: the use of the so-called Russian ‘shadow fleet’ to simulate maritime incidents and delay LNG deliveries. This was likely done with the aim of carrying out insider trading and converting crypto gains into the rouble. In this way, sanctions are circumvented and entities subject to restrictions are financed.