1 of 3 | The man responsible for operating the darknet’s longest-running bitcoin money laundering service was handed a 150-month prison sentence this week by a federal judge in Washington, DC. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License photo
Nov. 9 (UPI) — The man responsible for operating the darknet’s longest-running bitcoin money laundering service was handed a 150-month prison sentence this week by a federal judge in Washington, D.C.
Roman Sterlingov was also ordered to forfeit more than $395.5 million in assets, including cryptocurrency. according to the Ministry of Justice.
After a month-long trial in March, the dual Russian-Swedish citizen was convicted of money laundering, money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and transferring money without a license in the District of Columbia.
The 36-year-old operated Bitcoin Fog between 2011 and 2021 and allegedly laundered $400 million in illicit proceeds for a variety of international criminals, the Justice Department said.
“Roman Sterlingov led the darknet’s longest-running bitcoin laundering operation, and today he paid the price,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in the Justice Department statement.
“In the deepest recesses of the Internet, he provided a home for criminals of all stripes, from drug traffickers to identity thieves, to store hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds.”
Bitcoin Fog served as a digital “mixer,” processing transactions involving more than 1.2 million bitcoin, worth about $400 million, while Sterlingov was at the helm.
“Through his illegal money laundering operation, Sterlingov helped criminals launder the proceeds of drug trafficking, computer crime, identity theft and the sexual exploitation of children. Today’s sentencing underscores the Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who facilitate criminal activity fully accountable for their crimes,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, Chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
In addition to the prison sentence and financial penalty, U.S. District Judge for Washington Randolph Moss also ordered Sterlingov to forfeit his entire interest in the Bitcoin Fog wallet, which currently holds 1,345 bitcoin worth more than $103 million.
Prosecutors asked Moss for a 30-year prison sentence, while defense attorneys asked for no more than seven years of incarceration.
Sterlingov faced a maximum of 50 years in prison after conviction.
“It is clear that Sterlingov’s attempt to cloak his illegal activities in a cloak of anonymity ultimately failed, despite the sophisticated cooperative work of our Special Agents and Criminal Investigation Department partners,” IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco said in the Department of Justice statement Justice.
“Today’s significant prison sentence and hundreds of millions in financial sanctions against the defendant underscore the seriousness of this conviction and should serve as a clear warning that this type of criminal activity will not be tolerated.”
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