Russian trio charged in crypto mixer money laundering case

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged three Russian citizens with operating sanctioned crypto mixers allegedly used by North Korean criminals.

According to the Ministry of Justice, Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov were charged with money laundering in connection with crypto mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io.

The blender operated for four years, from 2018 to 2022, before US authorities closed its facility. Sinbad emerged as a replacement after Blender was shut down, but federal investigators also targeted Sinbad’s platform.

The defendants created “safe havens” for criminals to launder illicit funds, said Chief Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible of the Department of Justice. The Justice Department confirmed that Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested last month, while Tarasov remains at large and is wanted by US prosecutors.

By operating these jammers, the defendants allegedly made it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from crimes that endangered both public safety and national security.

Ministry of Justice indictment

The DOJ and the US Treasury have intensified their scrutiny of crypto mixing services such as Blender and Sinbad, facing criticism from blockchain advocates who claim such actions violate privacy rights.

One of the most notable cases involved Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency that handles millions of dollars in transaction volume. The US Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, leading to legal action against its developers in the US and the Netherlands.

In November 2024, a federal appeals court overturned the Treasury’s sanctions against Tornado Cash, ruling that the sanctions were unlawful. But federal prosecutors continued to pursue cases against mixer founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov.