Roman Storm, one of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, has attempted to have his case dismissed. However, a U.S. federal judge has declared that Storm’s trial for alleged money laundering will go ahead.
TORNADO CASH CO-FOUNDER GOES TO TRIAL AFTER DISMISSAL MOTION DENIED
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, is set to face trial on December 2 after a judge rejected his motion to dismiss federal charges, including money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting… pic.twitter.com/QFJj2T0ELu
— Crypto Town Hall (@Crypto_TownHall) September 27, 2024
Tornado Cash Co-Founder’s Motion To Have Charges Thrown Out Rejected
According to Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer of DeFi Education Fund, District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York dismissed Storm’s motion to dismiss three charges brought against him by the U.S. Department of Justice during a phone conference yesterday (September 26).
Federal prosecutors said in an August indictment that Storm “knowingly facilitated” the crypto mixer’s laundering of more than $1 billion in illicit proceeds.
The Tornado Cash founders are being charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Storm, his co-founder Roman Semenov, and others are allegedly facing additional charges of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. This carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
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Roman Storm’s Claim That He Is Protected By The First Amendment Dismissed By District Judge
Very disappointing ruling in the Tornado cash case.
The Court explicitly rejected the First Amendment argument and found as a matter of law that the Bank Secrecy Act doesn’t require control.
— Joe Carlasare (@JoeCarlasare) September 26, 2024
Judge Failla stated that the “functional capability” of code is not speech as defined by the First Amendment. This was in response to Storm’s claim that the First Amendment protected his involvement in creating the Tornado Cash software.
According to reports, the district judge also said that the federal government’s efforts in combating money laundering and evasion of sanctions are “wholly unrelated” to the suppression of free speech.
Judge Failla went on to say that she didn’t think Tornado Cash was “meaningfully different” from other companies that provided financial services or sent money.
Storm’s trial is due to begin in New York on December 2 and is anticipated to run for two weeks. In the meantime, Russian national Semenov is still on the loose.
Tornado Cash Has Long Been The Go-To Solution For Many Crypto Criminals Attempting To Hide Their Tracks
1/ How Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25+ crypto hacks to fiat from 2020 – 2023https://t.co/s8zNFwlamb
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 29, 2024
The goal of Tornado Cash as a cryptocurrency mixer, is to obscure the source and destination of payments in order to protect user privacy during cryptocurrency transactions.
It is widely used by hackers and scammers when attempting to remove any trace of ill-gotten assets from the blockchain. Most notably, Lazarus, a cybercriminal group supported by North Korea, is known to use Tornado Cash.
RELATED: $6 Million Drained From DeFi Platform, ZachXBT Claims That North Korea Hackers May Be Involved
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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