Feds Arrest an Alleged $336M Bitcoin-Laundering Kingpin

WIRED (04/27/2021)
  • US authorities recently arrested Roman Sterlingov, owner of crypto transaction camouflager Bitcoin Fog, for laundering over 1.2M Bitcoins worth $336M during the transactions.
  • Bitcoin Fog let users blend in their transactions with each other to obscure the source and destination.
  • At least $78M of these transactions involved narcotics dark-web markets.
  • Users were charged 2-2.5% per transaction.
  • Undercover IRS agents were able to trace Bitcoin Fog back to Sterlingov by tracing back his use of now-defunct cryptocurrency Liberty Reserve to cover operational expenses.