Crypto scandal: Tornado Cash developer demands acquittal due to lack of evidence!

Crypto scandal: Tornado Cash developer demands acquittal due to lack of evidence!

Roman Storm, a developer of Tornado Cash, is at the center of an intense legal battle surrounding the cryptocurrency mixer. Storm's lawyers are calling for the charges to be dropped because they claim prosecutors withheld evidence that could help exonerate him. Loud it-boltwise Storm's lawyers argue that non-custodial crypto mixers like Tornado Cash should not be classified as "money transmission companies."

The exculpatory evidence comes from a 2023 communication with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). A May 16 letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla references these FinCEN documents, which have been known to prosecutors since 2023. The lawyers see the decision to continue the case against Storm, along with the similar charges against the developers of Samourai Wallet, as a deliberate misleading of the court.

Litigation and charges

According to the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York, charges have been filed against Roman Storm and Roman Semenov. This indictment includes allegations of conspiracy to launder money, violate sanctions, and operate an unlicensed money transmission business. Tornado Cash is alleged to have facilitated more than $1 billion in money laundering transactions, including hundreds of millions of dollars for the Lazarus Group, a North Korean cybercrime organization that is under U.S. sanctions. The indictment alleges that Storm and Semenov designed and promoted the platform to enable untraceable cryptocurrency transfers.

Storm was arrested in Washington and presented in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Semenov, on the other hand, is on the run. Loud justice.gov Each of the accused developers faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for conspiracy to launder money.

The role of Tornado Cash

Tornado Cash is accused of not only laundering the assets of potential criminal activity, but also of failing to implement required identity verification or anti-money laundering programs. Despite public statements about compliance with sanctions, the two developers are said to have privately acknowledged the ineffectiveness of their measures.

A ruling by federal judge Robert Pitman dated April 28 prohibits the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from reimposing sanctions against Tornado Cash. However, US federal prosecutors are continuing to pursue the case against Storm, despite amended charges.

Storm's defense points to the legal arguments of the Samourai Wallet developer's lawyers and emphasizes that, despite their differences, the two cases share similar characteristics. The FinCEN documents are considered crucial to the possible dismissal of the case against Storm, while prosecutors deny withholding evidence and claim to have submitted all relevant information in a timely manner.