A dual Russian-Swedish national was arrested Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport on criminal charges related to his alleged operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet.
According to court documents, Roman Sterlingov operated Bitcoin Fog since 2011. Bitcoin Fog was the longest-running cryptocurrency mixer, gaining notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement. Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog moved over 1.2 million bitcoin – valued at approximately $335 million at the time of the transactions. The bulk of this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer fraud and abuse activities, and identity theft.
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DOJ and IRS’ Analysis of Crypto Records and Work with Private Experts and International Partners Leads to Arrest Friday, April 30, 2021
US law enforcement continues to make no secret of their efforts to work closely with experts and overseas partners to prosecute those involved in virtual currency transactions who attempt to rely on its purported anonymity to commit financial crimes. Tuesday’s arrest of Roman Sterlingov, a dual citizen of Russia and Sweden and alleged operator of Bitcoin Fog, in Los Angeles is a clear case that these efforts are paying dividends. In a criminal complaint filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Sterlingov is accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin. According to a statement of facts accompanying the complaint filed in the District of Columbia, Sterlingov was allegedly running “an illicit bitcoin money transmitting and money laundering service.” (Case 1:21-mj-0
Apple joins artist royalty payments debate with some good karma
In a bit of good news for musicians and songwriters, Apple has joined the competitive royalty fray, pitting itself against SoundCloud and Spotify to prove which platform can more fairly compensate artists.
Guest post by
As an old sailing master once said, two boats on the water is a race. For once, the prize may be which streamery can treat artists better than their competitor.
What do SoundCloud and Apple have in common? Or said another way, what does Spotify
not have in common with SoundCloud and Apple?
Of all the different ways that each of these licensed platforms try to compete with each other, SoundCloud and Apple have started competing on how fairly they pay the artists. We like it.
19 Apr 2021 21:06
Russian Foreign Ministry: claims of Russia s role in cyberattack on Swedish Sports Confederation not confirmed by facts
MOSCOW. April 19 (Interfax) - Swedish prosecutors allegations that Russia is involved in a cyberattack on the Swedish Sports Confederation have not been confirmed by any facts, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. The Swedish side s claims about Russia s alleged involvement in the hacker attacks on the Swedish Sports Confederation in 2017-2018 have not been confirmed by any facts. We also underscore that the investigation has lasted more than three years, no more no less, Zakharova told Interfax.
Moscow considers this unfriendly move by Stockholm, which is far from being the first such move, as another example of insinuations, she said.