A dual Russian-Swedish national has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for his operation of the longest-running Bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2011 through 2021, Roman Sterlingov, 36, was involved in operating Bitcoin Fog, the darknet’s longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer.”
Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog gained notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement and processed transactions involving over 1.2 million bitcoin, valued at approximately $400 million at the time the transactions occurred.
The bulk of this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer crimes, identity theft, and child sexual abuse material.
In March 2024, after a one-month trial, a jury found Sterlingov 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 addition to his term of imprisonment, Sterlingov was sentenced to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $395,563,025.39 and forfeiture of 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, totalling approximately 1,345 bitcoin and currently valued at more than $103 million.
“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. “In the deepest corners 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.
Monaco added, “Today’s sentence reflects the Department’s determination to dismantle the criminal networks that enable criminal actors to flourish and ensure consequences for the criminals operating them.”
“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.”
The prosecution of Sterlingov and the sentence imposed should serve as a warning to cybercriminals, said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI.
