A US court has handed down a conviction to Roman Sterlingov, a dual Russian-Swedish national, for his central role in operating Bitcoin Fog, a notorious darknet cryptocurrency mixer. Sterlingov, 35, was found guilty of orchestrating a sophisticated money laundering scheme that facilitated the laundering of approximately $400 million worth of cryptocurrency over the span of a decade, from 2011 to 2021.

Bitcoin Fog, the longest-running cryptocurrency mixer, gained popularity among criminals seeking to hide the origins of their illicit funds from law enforcement.

The operation of Bitcoin Fog allowed individuals to anonymize their cryptocurrency transactions by mixing them with others, effectively obfuscating the trail of digital breadcrumbs that typically leads investigators to financial wrongdoing.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Bitcoin Fog facilitated the movement of over 1.2 million bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $400 million at the time of the transactions. This substantial volume of cryptocurrency predominantly originated from darknet marketplaces and was closely tied to various criminal activities, including illegal narcotics trafficking, computer crimes, identity theft, and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material.

Sterlingov was convicted on multiple charges, including money laundering conspiracy and sting money laundering, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Additionally, he was found guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and money transmission without a license in the District of Columbia, with each offense carrying a maximum penalty of five years behind bars.