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US Department of Justice Indicts Russian Citizens for Operating Cryptocurrency Mixers
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed the charges against Russian nationals Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov. They are accused of running services that facilitated money laundering through cryptocurrency.
The accused individuals were allegedly behind Bender.io and Sinbad.io, two cryptocurrency mixers that acted as a refuge for washing illegally obtained funds, including those from ransomware attacks and wire fraud schemes. Brent Wible, the principal deputy assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, highlighted the severity of the situation in a press release.
International Law Enforcement Operation Leads to Seizure of Blender.io and Sinbad.io
In an international law enforcement operation conducted in 2023, Blender.io and Sinbad.io were shut down. These platforms were believed to be utilized by North Korean hackers and ransomware groups to launder stolen cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars.
Ostapenko and Oleynik were apprehended on December 1, 2024, while Tarasov remains at large as per the DOJ’s statement. The trio’s actions were said to have enabled state-sponsored hacking groups and cybercriminals to profit from illicit activities that posed a threat to public safety and national security.
