A grand jury has charged three Russian citizens on offences related to the operation of crypto-tumbling services.
A federal grand jury has indicted Roman Ostapenko, Alexander Oleynik, and Anton Tarasov, all of whom are Russian nationals, for their alleged involvement in the operation of crypto mixers Blender.io and Sinbad.io, according to a recent press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Crypto mixing services enable users to conceal the source of their funds by pooling their assets and blending them together.
Authorities claim in the press release that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned both services after entities with connections to the North Korean government employed Blender.io and Sinbad.io to conceal their transactions and launder stolen crypto funds.
May 2022 marked the initial approval of Blender.io. Months following its closure, Sinbad.io emerged and offered comparable services. November 2023 also saw its removal.
According to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, the chief of the Criminal Division at the Justice Department,
“The indictment alleges that the defendants operated cryptocurrency “mixers” that acted as secure havens for diverting criminally derived funds, such as the proceeds of wire fraud and ransomware.”
The defendants allegedly facilitated the profit-making of state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals by operating these mixers, which endangered both public safety and national security.
According to the press release, Ostapenko and Oleynik were apprehended in December 2024, while Tasarov is still at large. The charges against Ostapenko include one count of conspiracy to commit laundering of money and two counts of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In the interim, Oleynik and Tarasov are facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
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