The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted three Russian nationals for operating sanctioned crypto mixers allegedly used by North Korean criminals.

Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov have been charged with money laundering in connection with crypto mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io, according to the DOJ.

Blender operated for four years, from 2018 to 2022, before U.S. authorities shut down its site. Sinbad emerged as a replacement after Blender’s closure, but federal investigators also targeted its platform.

Brent S. Wible, a Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the DOJ, stated that the defendants created “safe havens” for criminals to launder illicit funds. The DOJ confirmed that Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested last month, while Tarasov remains at large and is wanted by U.S. prosecutors.

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.

DOJ indictment

The DOJ and U.S. Treasury have intensified their scrutiny of crypto-mixing services like Blender and Sinbad, drawing criticism from blockchain advocates who argue that such actions infringe on privacy rights.

One of the most high-profile cases involved Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based crypto tumbler that handled millions of dollars in transaction volume. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, leading to legal action against its developers in the U.S. and the Netherlands.

In November 2024, a federal appeals court overturned the Treasury’s sanctions on Tornado Cash, ruling that the sanctions were unlawful. However, federal prosecutors have continued pursuing cases against the mixer’s founders, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov.