Operators of Cryptocurrency Mixers Charged with Money Laundering

Press Release

ATLANTA -Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their involvement in operating the cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io.

"Blender.io and Sinbad.io were allegedly used by criminals across the world to launder funds stolen from victims of ransomware, virtual currency thefts, and other crimes," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "This indictment demonstrates our continued commitment to dismantling infrastructure used by cybercriminals to steal from Americans and hide their ill-gotten gains."

"According to the indictment, the defendants operated cryptocurrency 'mixers' that served as safe havens for laundering criminally derived funds, including the proceeds of ransomware and wire fraud," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "By allegedly operating these mixers, the defendants made it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from offenses that jeopardized both public safety and national security. The indictment and arrests announced today, which follow the earlier takedown of the defendants' criminal infrastructure, yet again demonstrate the value of our international partnerships in countering the global threat from cybercrime."

"Last year, with the assistance of our international partners, we successfully dismantled Sinbad.io. However, we did not rest with this initial success. We maintained our focus on identifying the individuals responsible for its development and ensuring their accountability," said Sean Burke, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "These indictments serve as a testament to the power of international cooperation."

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the indictment, and publicly available information: Blender.io and Sinbad.io were cryptocurrency mixers that allowed their users, for a fee, to send cryptocurrency to designated recipients in a manner designed to hide the source of the cryptocurrency. Blender.io and Sinbad.io were available for use by the public via the internet and used by criminals looking to distance themselves from the fact that their funds came from cryptocurrency thefts, ransomware attacks, and other crimes.

Blender.io operated from approximately 2018 to 2022. The service was advertised on a popular internet forum as having a "No Logs Policy" and deleting any traces of user transactions. Additionally, in the advertisement, Blender was described as not requiring users to sign up, register, or "provide any kind of detail except the receiving address!" The advertisement asserted that, "[a]s there are no personal details asked for, there's no way your identity is compromised, or can be linked back to, because as far as blender.io goes they don't know who you are." After Blender.io shut down, Sinbad.io began operating a few months later. Like Blender.io, Sinbad.io provided users with Bitcoin concealment services. And, on November 27, 2023, Sinbad.io was taken down through law enforcement action.

Both Blender.io and Sinbad.io have been sanctioned by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). On May 6, 2022, OFAC sanctioned Blender.io, citing its use by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launder stolen virtual currency. OFAC's public sanctions announcement also explained that Blender.io laundered funds for multiple ransomware groups. On November 29, 2023, OFAC sanctioned Sinbad.io, publicly citing its use by a DPRK state-sponsored hacking group and cybercriminals to obfuscate transactions linked to other criminal offenses.

Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, 55, of Russia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, 44, of Russia, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, 32, of Russia, are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested on December 1, 2024, roughly a year after Sinbad.io's online infrastructure was seized as part of a coordinated law enforcement action, while Tarasov remains at large.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendants' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The Netherlands' Public Prosecution Service and Fiscal Information and Investigative Service made significant contributions to the case, including to the disruption of the Sinbad.io mixer, and provided other valuable assistance. Significant support was also provided by the Australian Federal Police and Attorney-General's Department, and Finland's National Bureau of Investigation.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal, Trial Attorney Ethan Cantor of the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and member of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team are prosecuting the case. Significant assistance was also provided by the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll of the Central District of California.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Updated January 10, 2025