Bitcoin Fog founder sentenced to over 12 years for cryptocurrency laundering

Roman Sterlingov, founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Bitcoin Fog, received a 12-year prison sentence for facilitating extensive money laundering activities from 2011 to 2021, reports The Hacker News.

The U.S. Department of Justice described Bitcoin Fog as one of the darknet’s longest-running mixing services, used by criminals to conceal the origins of illicit funds. Bitcoin Fog processed over 1.2 million bitcoins, valued at approximately $400 million at the time, with funds primarily sourced from darknet marketplaces associated with drug trafficking, cybercrime, identity theft, and child exploitation. Alongside his prison term, Sterlingov was ordered to forfeit over $395 million in assets and relinquish control over his Bitcoin Fog wallet, which holds 1,345 bitcoins worth $103 million. This sentencing followed several other high-profile cybercrime cases, including Nigerian national Babatunde Ayeni, who received a ten-year sentence for involvement in a $20 million email fraud scheme targeting real estate transactions, and Kolade Akinwale Ojelade, sentenced to 26 years for conducting phishing attacks on real estate companies, resulting in $12 million in losses.