3 Russian Nationals Indicted for Providing Bitcoin Concealment Services to Cybercriminals

ATLANTA — A federal grand jury has indicted three Russian nationals for their involvement in operating two cryptocurrency mixing websites used by criminals to launder stolen cryptocurrency.

The defendants are Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, 55; Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, 44; and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, 32. They are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

According to the indictment, Ostapenko and his co-conspirators operated Blender.io and Sinbad.io, which were advertised on a popular internet forum as having a “no logs policy” and deleting any traces of user transactions.

The websites did not require users to register, log in, or provide any information except the recipient’s address.

The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Blender.io laundered money for multiple ransomware groups.

Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested on Dec. 1, 2024. Tarasov remains at large.

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