Three Russian nationals linked to the operation of licensed cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io have been indicted on money laundering charges by a federal grand jury in Georgia, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday. release.
Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko and Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik were arrested last month and face money laundering charges. A third person linked to the services’ operations, Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, is at large, the Justice Department said.
Authorities in multiple jurisdictions had already seized and dismantled the computer equipment behind the services. Blender.io had previously been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for helping to hide crypto profits from cyber thefts by North Korean hackers. That move marked the first Treasury sanctions against a cryptocurrency mixer, which is a service that aims to anonymize transactions and erase the public trail of digital assets.
“According to the indictment, the defendants operated cryptocurrency ‘mixers’ that served as safe havens for the laundering of funds derived from crimes, including proceeds from ransomware and wire fraud,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Brent S. Wible. , head of the criminal division of the Department of Justice. , in a statement. “By allegedly operating these mixers, the defendants made it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from crimes that endangered both public safety and national security.”
Read more: Crypto Mixer sanctioned by US Treasury over North Korean allegations, as FBI, Dutch and Finnish police seize website
The prosecution of cryptocurrency mixing services – the controversial businesses that represent both the sector’s vulnerability to criminal use and its defense of financial privacy – has been a point of contention for US lawmakers and members of Congress.
In the most famous case, the pursuit of Tornado Cash, Treasury sanctions were overturned in November by a federal appeals court, ruling that the technology underpinning such services cannot be attacked in this way. However, the government is still pursuing criminal proceedings against the founders of Tornado Cash.
Blender.io operated from 2018 to 2022 before authorities shut it down, to be quickly replaced by Sinbad.io, which received similar sanctions from the Treasury Department.
