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

The U.S. Department of Justice 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 and Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, who have been arrested, while the third, Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, remains at large. Blender.io was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for its role in helping to conceal cryptocurrency proceeds from cybertheft conducted by North Korean hackers, 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. They made 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. In the most prominent case, the sanctions against Tornado Cash were overturned in November by a federal appeals court, which ruled that the technology on which such services rely cannot be the subject of sanctions. However, the government is still pursuing criminal charges against the founder of Tornado Cash. 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.