A Russian-Swedish national has been sentenced to a jail term for the operation of the longest-running Bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet that processed nearly $500m in funds.
For more than ten years, Roman Sterlingov’s platform and service were seen as the go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to “wash” their ill-gotten gains tied to illegal narcotics, computer crimes, identity theft, and child sexual abuse material.
It is also presumed that the dual citizen was responsible for the process that led to the laundering of 1.2 million bitcoins, valued at approximately $400 million, through the dark web platform.
“Roman Sterlingov ran the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet, and today he paid the price,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Sterlingov pays a hefty price for money laundering charges
The IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) District of Columbia Cyber Crime Unit and FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and FBI’s Virtual Asset Unit worked alongside the Japanese, Swedish, Danish, Romanian, and UK authorities and Europol.
Sterlingov will serve a term of no less than 12 years and six months in prison as part of the sentencing requirements. He was convicted as part of a case that found him guilty of “money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and money transmission without a license in the District of Columbia in March 2024.
The case also resulted in Sterlingov paying a forfeiture judgment for $395,563,025.39 and forfeiting seized cryptocurrencies and monetary assets valued at “approximately $1.76 million. In addition, Sterlingov was ordered to forfeit his interest in the Bitcoin Fog wallet, totaling approximately 1,345 bitcoin and currently valued at more than $103 million,” said the Justice Department.
“Roman Sterlingov laundered over $400 million in criminal proceeds through Bitcoin Fog, his cryptocurrency ‘mixing’ service that was open for business to criminals looking to hide dirty money,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through his illicit money laundering operation, Sterlingov helped criminals launder proceeds of drug trafficking, computer crime, identity theft, and the sexual exploitation of children.
Image: Pixlr.
