Washington Court Convicts Bitcoin Fog Founder of Aiding Darknet Drug Trade Money Laundering
12 Março 2024 - 11:00PM
NEWSBTC
In a recent development, the founder of “Bitcoin Fog,” a
cryptocurrency-mixing service, was found guilty by a federal jury
in Washington of helping to launder tens of millions of dollars
from darknet markets notorious for illegal drug sales.
Multi-Million Dollar Crypto Money Laundering Case According to a
Bloomberg report, Roman Sterlingov, a 35-year-old Russian-Swiss
national, was convicted by a jury on multiple counts, including
conspiring to money launder, money laundering, and failing to
register a money transmitting service. The prosecution argued that
Bitcoin Fog facilitated over $400 million in untraceable
transactions, with some funds originating from illicit markets.
Related Reading: Crypto Institutional Investors Are Frontrunning
Retail As Inflows Reach Record Highs The verdict not only marks
another victory for the United States in its crackdown on crypto
criminals but also sheds light on the role of Chainalysis, a Wall
Street-backed firm utilized by the Justice Department and Treasury
Department to trace cryptocurrency flows in money laundering cases.
The defense raised concerns about the reliability of Chainalysis
during the trial, questioning its methods and credibility. During
the month-long trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing how
they tracked the flow of crypto from darknet markets through
Bitcoin Fog, which they claimed Sterlingov operated. The government
also relied on testimony from other crypto criminals, including
Ilya Lichtenstein and Larry Harmon, who testified about using
mixers for money laundering purposes. Bitcoin Fog Founder Maintains
Innocence Despite Conviction Sterlingov, who has consistently
denied running Bitcoin Fog, testified that he allegedly worked in
information technology and helped clients create domain names
during his employment at a marketing and web firm.
Furthermore, Sterlingov claimed that he did not recall creating the
Bitcoin Fog domain name or engaging in certain transactions
referenced by the government. Defense attorney Tor Ekeland also
claimed that there was no concrete evidence linking Sterlingov to
the operation of Bitcoin Fog, emphasizing a lack of eyewitness
accounts or server logs. Ekeland also questioned the logic of
using a secretive multi-step process to fund Bitcoin Fog when the
initial transaction originated from an account registered in
Sterlingov’s name. Sterlingov now faces a potential prison sentence
of up to 20 years for the most serious charges. Related
Reading: Solana Demand Soars As Institutions Buy Up SOL At A
Massive 870% Premium As of the latest update, Bitcoin, the largest
cryptocurrency in the market, experienced a minor 2% correction,
briefly dipping to $68,500 and temporarily falling below the
significant $70,000 milestone. However, the cryptocurrency swiftly
rebounded and is currently trading at $71,400 at the time of
writing. Despite this temporary correction, Bitcoin has still
exhibited notable gains of 11%, 25%, and 48% over the past seven,
fourteen, and thirty days, respectively. These substantial
increases propelled BTC to achieve its recent all-time high (ATH)
of $73,000, which was reached on Monday. Featured image from
Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
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