The US Department of Justice has indicted three Russian nationals for operating sanctioned crypto mixers allegedly used by North Korean criminals.
Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov stayed in charge with money laundering in connection with the crypto mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io, according to the DOJ.
Blender operated for four years, from 2018 to 2022, before US authorities shut down its site. Sinbad emerged as a replacement after Blender’s closure, but federal investigators have also targeted its platform.
Brent S. Wible, a Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the DOJ, said the defendants created “safe havens” for criminals to launder illicit funds. The DOJ confirmed that Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested last month, while Tarasov remains at large and is wanted by US prosecutors.
By allegedly operating these mixers, the defendants made it easier for state hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from crimes that endangered both public safety and national security.
The DOJ indictment
The DOJ and US Treasury have stepped up their scrutiny of crypto-mixing services like Blender and Sinbad, drawing criticism from blockchain advocates who argue that such actions violate privacy rights.
One of the most high-profile cases involves Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based crypto tumbler that has handled 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 sanctions on Tornado Cash, which ruled that the sanctions were illegal. However, federal prosecutors continued to pursue cases against the mixer’s founders, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov.
