A federal court in Washington, D.C., has ruled against Roman Sterlingov, the creator of cryptocurrency platform Bitcoin Fog, for engaging in money laundering activities. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
The jury found Sterlingov guilty on several counts including #money laundering, aiding and abetting illegal transactions, participating in a criminal scheme, and violating D.C. money transfer laws.
The trial revealed that Bitcoin Fog facilitated more than $400 million in suspicious transactions, most of which, $78 million, were derived from illegal transactions on the darknet.
The prosecution alleged that Sterlingov ran the mixing service from October 2011 through April 2021, which the defendant vehemently denied. Sterlingov claimed he only used the platform as a regular user.
Prosecutor Katrin Pelker emphasized that the main purpose of the defendants' creation of the platform was to help criminals hide their illegal proceeds.
In response, Thor Ekeland, the legal representative of the defendants, announced his intention to challenge the court's decision on appeal.
Bitcoin founder Fogg will be sentenced on July 15, 2024 and could result in a 20-year prison sentence.
In addition, the US authorities accused the developers of another cryptocurrency service, #Tornado Cash, of complicity in money laundering. The developers of the service raised funds for their defense through crowdfunding, but one of them, Alexey Pertsev, spent nine months in jail without formal charges.
