The U.S. Department of Justice charged three Russian citizens with operating crypto-mixing services that helped crooks launder cryptocurrency.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Russian national Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov with operating crypto-mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io that helped crooks launder cryptocurrency.
Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko and Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik were arrested on Dec. 1, 2024, while Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, remains at large.
An international law enforcement operation conducted by the Netherlands’ Financial Intelligence and Investigative Service, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI led to the seizure of Sinbad.io’s infrastructure in November 2023.
“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 Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “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 indictment and arrests announced today, which follow the earlier takedown of the defendants’ criminal infrastructure, yet again demonstrate the value of our international partnerships in countering the global threat from cybercrime.”
Blender.io and Sinbad.io were allegedly used for laundering funds from ransomware and cybercrimes.
Blender.io was active from 2018 to 2022, while Sinbad.io began operating a few months after the shutdown of the first mixer. Law enforcement dismantled Sinbad.io on November 27, 2023. Both crypto-mixing services offered anonymous Bitcoin mixing services with “no logs” policies to conceal user transactions. Both services claimed not to require personal details, ensuring untraceable identities.
“Both Blender.io and Sinbad.io have been sanctioned by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).” reads the press release published by DoJ. “On May 6, 2022, OFAC sanctioned Blender.io, citing its use by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launder stolen virtual currency. OFAC’s public sanctions announcement also explained that Blender.io laundered funds for multiple ransomware groups. On Nov. 29, 2023, OFAC sanctioned Sinbad.io, publicly citing its use by a DPRK state-sponsored hacking group and cybercriminals to obfuscate transactions linked to other criminal offenses.”
The trio faces charges for conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating unlicensed money-transmitting businesses. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years for money laundering conspiracy and five years for each unlicensed money transmitting business charge.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI highlighted their efforts, including dismantling Sinbad.io with international partners and pursuing those behind its development. These actions underscore the importance of global cooperation in combating cybercrime.
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