A U.S. court sentenced Bitcoin Fog cryptocurrency mixer operator Roman Sterlingov to 12.5 years in prison for laundering over $400 million in digital assets from 2011 to 2021.
In March, the jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and two counts related to operating an unlicensed money transmission service. At that time, Sterlingov disagreed with their decision.
On November 8, in court, he expressed regret for 'any possible harm' caused by his actions. As Bloomberg reports, Sterlingov also promised to 'become better.'
In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $395.5 million and forfeit his share of the Bitcoin Fog wallet amounting to 1345 BTC (~$103 million). The convicted also had cryptocurrencies worth $1.76 million confiscated.
"Roman Sterlingov ran a money laundering service that operated longer than any other, and today he got what he deserved. In the farthest corners of the internet, he provided refuge for criminals of all kinds, from drug traffickers to identity thieves, helping them preserve illegally obtained hundreds of millions of dollars," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Recall that in May, Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was found guilty of laundering $1.2 billion through a crypto mixer and was sentenced to 64 months in prison.
In November, the trial of platform co-founder Roman Storm was postponed to April 14, 2025.
Charges of money laundering and sanctions violations in the U.S. have also been brought against another co-founder of the mixer, Roman Semenov. He remains free but has been sanctioned.
