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

The U.S. Justice Department has charged three Russian nationals with money laundering, alleging they operated sanctioned cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io. Two of the individuals were arrested last month and face money laundering charges, while the third suspect remains at large. Blender.io was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for its role in helping to obscure cryptocurrency proceeds from cybertheft conducted by North Korean hackers, marking the first time the Treasury had sanctioned a cryptocurrency mixer. The Justice Department said the defendants operated cryptocurrency “mixers” that served as 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’s sanctions on the cryptocurrency mixer due to North Korean allegations, along with 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 the defense of financial privacy. In the most prominent case, the sanctions against Tornado Cash were overturned in November by a federal appeals court, which ruled that the technology underlying such services could not be targeted for 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.