1 year ago
Jonelle Still, the manager of investigations and quality astatine CipherTrace, a Master Card company, precocious submitted a study supporting the defence successful the United States v. Roman Sterlingov, a transgression lawsuit involving the Bitcoin Fog cryptocurrency mixing service.
The company’s engagement successful the lawsuit comes astatine the behest of Sterlingov’s defence attorneys, and includes a 41-page study detailing Still’s sentiment connected the efficacy of information obtained by the prosecution from blockchain probe enactment Chainalysis.
At the halfway of the study is the assertion that information provided by Chainalysis cannot beryllium corroborated on-chain:
“The blockchain forensics and tracing tools utilized successful this lawsuit were misused to erroneously conclude that Mr. Sterlingov was the relation of Bitcoin Fog erstwhile nary specified grounds exists on-chain.”Sterlingov has been accused by the United States authorities of being the laminitis of Bitcoin Fog, a cryptocurrency mixing work that allegedly participated successful amerciable wealth laundering transactions successful the claimed magnitude of $336 million.
As Cointelegraph reported, Sterlingov was arrested successful April of 2021 aft a 10-year probe resulted successful the allegations. According to his attorneys, the transgression claims were based connected grounds provided by Chainalysis.
In a caller podcast, Sterlingov’s ineligible representatives, Tor Eklund and Michael Hassard, laid out the lawsuit from their perspective. They asseverate that Chainalysis failed to hint transactions backmost to their lawsuit utilizing information and alternatively simply provided the prosecution with an sentiment connected the substance of who founded Bitcoin Fog.
Eklund and Hassard assertion that the government’s lawsuit is built connected Chainalysis’ information and the assertion that successful 2019 IRS agents sent a connection to “whatever they deliberation is the helpdesk oregon whatever” astatine Bitcoin Fog asking if the work would beryllium bully to launder Bitcoin they’d earned selling “Molly,” (a thoroughfare sanction for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
Related: Darknet crypto mixer relation pleads blameworthy to laundering $300M successful BTC
The lawyers assertion that Bitcoin Fog ne'er responded to the connection and that the IRS agents went up and proceeded to usage the Bitcoin Fog work successful what the United States present claims was a laundering scheme. Eklund and Hassard accidental the authorities ne'er really sold molly for Bitcoin with the intent of laundering the proceeds done the Bitcoin Fog service.
The study provided by CipherTrace highlights immoderate of the issues surrounding the Chainalysis data, including Still’s sentiment that the conclusions drawn from it (that Sterlingov is the laminitis of Bitcoin Fog) cannot beryllium demonstrated with on-chain data.
Still, the report’s writer yet concludes that “Blockchain forensics should lone beryllium utilized to make investigatory leads. Standing alone, they are insufficient arsenic a superior root of evidence.” They proceed to authorities that it is “striking” that the United States and Chainalysis reached the conclusions they did without “ immoderate corroborating grounds for the blockchain forensics.”
“To forestall wrongful arrests similar this one,” writes Still, “it is recommended that Chainalysis, and their methodologies of blockchain investigation beryllium independently audited.”
As the United States has seized each of Sterlingov’s assets portion he’s connected trial, his defence squad and CipherTrace person aided his ineligible efforts pro-bono.
English (US) 