#U.S. Justice Department Accuses Russian National of Money Laundering#

The U.S. Justice Department has charged three Russian nationals with money laundering for allegedly operating sanctioned cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io. The three Russians are Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, with Ostapenko and Oleynik having been arrested and Tarasov remaining at large. Blender.io was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for assisting North Korean hackers in concealing cryptocurrency proceeds from cybertheft, marking the first time the Treasury Department had sanctioned a cryptocurrency mixer. The Justice Department said the cryptocurrency mixers operated by the defendants were havens for money laundering, including proceeds from ransomware and telecommunications fraud, making it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from crimes that harm public safety and national security. The Treasury Department's sanctions on the cryptocurrency mixer due to North Korean allegations, the FBI, Dutch and Finnish police shutting down the website cryptocurrency mixing services, have sparked debate among U.S. policymakers and lawmakers about the industry's vulnerability to exploitation by criminals and its defense of financial privacy. Previously, the Treasury Department's sanctions on Tornado Cash were overturned by a federal appeals court, but the government is still pursuing criminal charges against Tornado Cash's founders. Blender.io operated from 2018 until 2022, when it was shut down by authorities, and was quickly replaced by Sinbad.io, which was also similarly sanctioned by the Treasury Department.