What You Should Know:
- A trio of Russian nationals has been charged with crimes in connection with running U.S.-sanctioned crypto mixing services.
- One of the men remains at-large, according to the Department of Justice.
Three Russian nationals tied to operating sanctioned crypto mixing services, Blender.io and Sinbad.io, have been charged with money laundering by a federal grand jury in Georgia, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko and Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik were arrested last month and now face charges of money laundering. Meanwhile, a third man involved in these operations, Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, is still at large.
Authorities from multiple jurisdictions have seized and dismantled the computer equipment used by these services. Notably, Blender.io was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for helping conceal funds from cybercrimes conducted by North Korean hackers. This marked the Treasury’s first sanctions against a crypto mixer aimed at obscuring transaction trails.
“According to the indictment, the defendants operated cryptocurrency ‘mixers’ that served as safe havens for laundering criminally derived funds, including the proceeds of ransomware and wire fraud,” said Brent S. Wible, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General. “By allegedly operating these mixers, the defendants made it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from offenses that jeopardized both public safety and national security.”
The prosecution of such mixing services has sparked debate among U.S. policymakers and lawmakers since these services balance financial privacy concerns against the potential for misuse in criminal activities. Although the pursuit of Tornado Cash, another crypto mixer, faced legal setbacks, the government continues to prosecute its founders.
Blender.io functioned from 2018 until its shutdown in 2022 and was swiftly replaced by Sinbad.io, which subsequently faced similar sanctions from the Treasury Department.
