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Who was charged?
The indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia names Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov. The charges were not identical:
| Defendant | Counts alleged in the indictment |
|---|---|
| Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko | One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. |
| Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik | One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. |
| Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov | 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, according to the Justice Department’s January 2025 announcement. At that time, Tarasov was reported at large. Those are announcement-era details, not confirmation of anyone’s current status. The announcement gives no later case outcome, so it does not establish whether any defendant was subsequently arrested, pleaded guilty, went to trial or was convicted.
What did prosecutors allege the mixers did?
Prosecutors described a mixer as a public internet service that accepted cryptocurrency for a fee and sent cryptocurrency to designated recipients in a way intended to obscure its source. The indictment alleges Blender.io and Sinbad.io were used to launder proceeds from ransomware, cryptocurrency thefts, wire fraud and other crimes. These claims concern the services and alleged conduct; the charging announcement does not state a total amount handled by the three defendants or allege a specific sum personally laundered by any one of them.
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U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said: “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.” The word “allegedly” matters: an indictment is an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
How the charges differ—and what the penalties mean
The money-laundering-conspiracy count applied to all three defendants. The unlicensed money-transmitting-business charge also applied to each, while the indictment listed two such counts for Ostapenko. The archived Justice Department announcement says the conspiracy count carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, and each unlicensed-transmitter count a maximum of five years.
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Those figures are legal maximums, not predictions of a sentence or penalties imposed in this case. A sentence would depend on the course of the case and applicable law; the announcement does not report a conviction or sentence.
Blender.io and Sinbad.io: timeline and sanctions
| Date or period | What official sources say |
|---|---|
| Approximately 2018–2022 | Blender.io operated during this period, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors reported that it advertised a “No Logs Policy” and no signup requirement; those were marketing claims, not proof that it kept or erased no records. |
| May 6, 2022 | The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Blender.io, according to the Justice Department’s account. DOJ cited its alleged use by the DPRK to launder stolen virtual currency and use by ransomware groups. |
| A few months after Blender.io shut down | Sinbad.io began operating, according to the Justice Department. The chronology alone does not establish common ownership, technical lineage or that the same people operated both services. |
| November 27, 2023 | Sinbad.io was seized in a law-enforcement operation, according to DOJ. |
| November 29, 2023 | OFAC sanctioned Sinbad.io. DOJ said the designation cited use by a DPRK state-sponsored hacking group and other cybercriminals. |
| December 1, 2024 | Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested, DOJ reported. |
| January 7 and 10, 2025 | A federal grand jury returned the indictment on January 7; DOJ announced it on January 10. |
The services also appear in a broader sanctions context. The U.S. Treasury Department’s separate November 2023 announcement described Sinbad as a preferred mixing service for the Lazarus Group and said it was used to launder portions of proceeds from the Atomic Wallet, Axie Infinity and Horizon Bridge thefts. Treasury reported the March 2022 Axie Infinity theft at approximately $620 million — U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2023. That is the reported value of the theft, not a measure of Sinbad’s total throughput or funds attributed to these Georgia defendants.
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Keep this indictment separate from another Russian crypto case
A separate Justice Department announcement in September 2024 concerned Russian nationals Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov and services including UAPS, PinPays and PM2BTC, as well as the Cryptex exchange. That is a different matter from the Blender.io/Sinbad.io indictment. Its defendants, services, allegations and transaction figures do not establish anything about the three people charged in Georgia.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the public announcement does—and does not—establish
The January 2025 Justice Department announcement describes the charges and the government’s allegations, but does not provide a quantified total of funds allegedly handled by the defendants. It also does not establish the case’s later procedural status. Accordingly, the charges should not be treated as proof that the defendants operated the services or committed the alleged crimes.
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Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice, January 10, 2025 announcement; OFAC Blender.io sanctions announcement; OFAC Sinbad.io sanctions announcement; U.S. Treasury Department, November 2023 Sinbad announcement; Separate September 2024 case announcement.
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