The indictment reveals that Ostapenko, Oleynik, and Tarasov operated and promoted Blender and Sinbad between 2018 and 2022. Blender’s online advertisements claimed a “no logs policy,” meaning they deleted transaction traces and did not require personal details for transfers. Prosecutors allege that the trio knew criminal funds were funneled through Blender and Sinbad, and also failed to register Blender as a money transmitting business. Ostapenko faces an additional charge for not registering Sinbad and its operations in 2023.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added Blender to its sanctions list after it was found to have laundered over $20 million for a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group involved in an exploit of a popular online game. Sinbad.io was also sanctioned in 2023 due to its involvement with North Korean hackers and other criminal activities. The service was later seized in a coordinated law enforcement operation involving the FBI and law enforcement from the Netherlands and Finland.
