On March 12, $400 million worth of Bitcoin Fog cryptocurrency exchanger Roman Sterlingov was convicted of money laundering and other related charges in the United States, a verdict that came after a four-week trial.。

Convicted of Operating Cryptocurrency Mixer

The 35-year-old, a Russian and Swedish citizen, has been convicted of a number of charges, including conspiracy to launder money, participating in a money laundering assassination operation, operating an unlicensed money transfer business and violating the Washington, D.C. Money Transfer Act (D.C.Money Transmitters Act)。

According to the US Department of Justice, Bitcoin Fog is "one of the longest-running and most prolific Bitcoin money laundering services on the dark web."。The platform, operated by Sterlingov between October 2011 and April 2021, serves "criminals who try to hide their illicit gains to evade law enforcement."。

The platform transferred more than 1.2 million bitcoins, worth around $400 million at the time of the transaction.。Most of these cryptocurrencies come from the dark web marketplace and are linked to illegal drugs, computer fraud and abuse activities, and identity theft, and the platform also serves "disseminators of child sexual abuse material."。

The jury further approved the forfeiture of seized assets belonging to Bitcoin Fog, including more than 1,354 bitcoins held in the platform's wallet, $349,625 in cash, and other cryptocurrencies seized from Kraken's account.。

Sentencing expires

Sterlingov now faces a maximum sentence of 50 years on all charges combined, with sentencing set for July 15, 2024.。

Jim Lee, director of criminal investigations at the IRS, said: "The evidence presented at the trial clearly shows that the defendants laundered hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal funds from the dark web through bitcoin fog in an attempt to cover up the origin of these funds.。"

Meanwhile, Sterlingov's attorney, Tor Ekeland, tweeted that they had decided to appeal the jury's verdict.。

The conviction of Sterlingov solidifies the position of the US authorities to crack down on the Bitcoin hybrid service。Earlier, U.S. prosecutors charged Roman Semenov and Roman Storm, the founders of Tornado Cash, another cryptocurrency hybrid service, with the two accused of laundering about $1 billion in black money, and a trial is scheduled for later this year.。