U.S. Authorities Accuse the Managers of Cryptocurrency Blenders Blender and Sinbad of Criminal Charges
In a significant move against cybercrime, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has indicted three Russian nationals: Roman Ostapenko, Alexander Oleynik, and Anton Tarasov. The trio is accused of operating cryptocurrency mixers Blender.io and Sinbad.io, which are believed to have been involved in money laundering activities.
These mixers, designed to obscure the origin and destination of cryptocurrency funds, have been favoured tools for illicit transactions by criminals, terrorists, and money launderers. Sinbad.io, along with others such as Tornado Cash and ChipMixer, has been noted by the U.S. Treasury Department as a preferred tool for illicit laundering and has been included on sanction lists for these reasons.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have pursued enforcement actions against such mixers, accusing them of laundering massive sums of digital assets. Tornado Cash, for example, was accused of laundering over $7 billion. These legal actions typically involve charges related to money laundering or operating as unlicensed money services, targeting the creators and operators of these mixers.
While the specific details of the indictments against Ostapenko, Oleynik, and Tarasov are not fully outlined in the available sources, their association with these sanctioned mixers indicates allegations mainly centered on enabling and facilitating money laundering schemes through these platforms.
Blender.io was sanctioned by the Treasury Department as part of efforts to combat illicit finance in crypto, implicating its founders in activities that allegedly helped conceal the proceeds of cybercrimes and other illegal operations. Sinbad.io, similarly, has been referenced among prominent mixers targeted by regulators for assisting in the laundering of funds, consistent with ongoing global efforts to police cryptocurrency platforms used in illicit finance.
The indicted individuals are alleged to have been involved in running the cryptocurrency mixers Blender.io and Sinbad.io in the context of criminal activities involving ransomware. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to launder funds. Roman Ostapeniko and Alexander Oleynik were arrested on December 1, 2024, while Anton Tarasov remains at large.
The unlicensed money-transmitting service operated by the indicted individuals is under scrutiny, and both Blender.io and Sinbad.io gained popularity after the Tornado Cash platform was blacklisted. The indictment against the three Russians includes charges for conspiring to launder funds and for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting service.
[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Press Release, "Three Russian Nationals Charged with Operating Cryptocurrency Mixers Used to Launder Proceeds from Ransomware and Other Illicit Activities," December 1, 2024. [4] U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release, "Treasury Sanctions Cryptocurrency Mixers Used to Launder Proceeds from Ransomware and Other Illicit Activities," May 10, 2022 (for Blender.io) and November 16, 2023 (for Sinbad.io).
- The indictment against Roman Ostapeniko, Alexander Oleynik, and Anton Tarasov involves charges not only for conspiring to launder funds but also for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting service, associated with technology that has been a topic of general-news due to its popularity in cybercrime and money laundering.
- In addition to Blender.io and Sinbad.io, other cryptocurrency mixers, such as Tornado Cash and ChipMixer, have been noted by the U.S. Treasury Department for their roles in illicit finance and crime-and-justice issues, often being favored by criminals, terrorists, and money launderers due to their ability to obscure the origin and destination of cryptocurrency funds.
