A federal grand jury in Georgia has indicted three Russian nationals for allegedly running the cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io, which were used by North Korean hackers, according to the US Department of Justice. The indictment, announced on Friday, charges Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov with money laundering. Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested last month, while Tarasov remains at large. The services were previously sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for helping to conceal the proceeds of cyber thefts.
Authorities have seized and dismantled the computer equipment behind the services. According to the indictment, the defendants operated cryptocurrency 'mixers' that allowed cybercriminals to launder funds, including those derived from ransomware and wire fraud. The prosecution of crypto mixing services has been a point of contention for US policymakers, with the Treasury's sanctions against Tornado Cash being overturned by a federal appeals court in November. However, the government is still pursuing criminal prosecutions of Tornado Cash's founders.
Blender.io operated from 2018 to 2022 before being taken down by authorities and replaced by Sinbad.io, which also drew sanctions from the Treasury Department.