A grand jury has indicted three Russian citizens on charges of operating crypto tumbling services.
According to a new press release from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), a federal grand jury has indicted Russian citizens Roman Ostapenko, Alexander Oleynik and Anton Tarasov for their alleged involvement in operating crypto mixers Blender.io and Sinbad.io.
Crypto mixing services allow users to obscure the source of their funds by letting them pool and merge their assets.
In the press release, authorities say both services have been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) after entities with ties to the North Korean government used Blender.io and Sinbad.io to launder stolen crypto and hide their transactions .
Blender.io was initially sanctioned in May 2022. Months after it was shut down, Sinbad.io surfaced and provided similar services. This was also demolished in November 2023.
As stated by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, Chief of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice:
“According to the indictment, the defendants operated cryptocurrency ‘mixers’ that served as safe havens for the laundering of criminally obtained funds, including the proceeds of ransomware and bank fraud.
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.”
Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested in December 2024 while Tasarov remains at large, according to the press release. Ostapenko is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of operating an unlicensed money transmission business. Meanwhile, Oleynik and Tarasov are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
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