Tornado Cash | Crypto

The Solana Policy Institute (SPI) has pledged $500,000 to the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, according to an Aug. 28 statement. Storm and Pertsev helped create Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based privacy protocol that allows crypto transactions to be mixed and anonymized. After deployment, the developers relinquished control of the […] The post Solana Policy Institute grants $500K to defend Tornado Cash developers appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s conviction misapplies money transmitter laws, crypto industry group says. The conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm could set a “dangerous” precedent for developers and privacy, legal observers in the crypto space say. Storm was found guilty of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years. The jury could not reach a consensus on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Federal prosecutors could still retry him on these two charges.  While Storm is yet to face sentencing, other crypto-related cases, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and OneCoin co-founder Karl Greenwood, were tried and found guilty in the same district and ended up serving prison time.  Read more

From teaching himself how to code to working odd jobs in the United States after emigrating, Roman Storm’s story is anything but typical. Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash co-founder and developer, found an interest in computer software at a young age after his parents bought him a personal computer. Now, at 36 years old, he holds a guilty verdict for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, issued by a jury on Wednesday. He remains in limbo as prosecutors could still retry him on two additional felony counts: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Storm has always been drawn to “the more technical side of things,” he said on a podcast in early July, just before his trial began in a New York district court. He spent time playing video games and teaching himself how computer programs and software worked. Read more

With a sentencing hearing scheduled in a matter of weeks, Roman Storm is potentially looking at five years in jail for running an unlicensed money transmitting service. A Manhattan jury found Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm guilty of charges related to conspiracy to run an unlicensed money business. In a Wednesday decision in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Storm was found guilty of one felony charge related to his role at Tornado Cash, according to court reports from Inner City Press. The jury convicted Roman on conspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmittal business, which carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. No unanimity was reached on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering nor on conspiracy to violate North Korea sanctions. Read more

The Roman Storm trial has hit a snag after four days of jury deliberations, with jurors informing the court that they remain deadlocked on certain charges, according to an Aug. 6 court reporting from Inner City Press. Judge Katherine Polk Failla revealed that the jury had submitted a note stating some members were firmly set […] The post Jurors deadlocked in Roman Storm trial over Tornado Cash allegations appeared first on CryptoSlate.

An intriguing twist in the trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm emerged after one juror reportedly requested time off to attend her mother’s birthday celebration. On Aug. 4, Inner City Press shared updates from the courtroom, revealing that the juror, identified as “Ms. Nelson,” had asked for a break from deliberations on Aug. 5. […] The post Birthday plans clash with Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm trial deliberations appeared first on CryptoSlate.

If convicted of the three charges, the Tornado Cash developer could face more than 40 years in prison. Jurors will now decide the fate of Roman Storm, co-founder of cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, after prosecutors and the defense delivered closing arguments on Wednesday. The closing arguments phase of a trial is when both sides summarize a case before a judge or jury, making their cases and trying one last time to persuade before the fact-finder goes off to deliberate. Storm is standing trial in the Southern District of New York in a case that could set a precedent for how much responsibility developers have for decentralized software that is used illegally. Read more

Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will not bring criminal charges against the crypto venture firm, as Tornado Cash co‑founder Roman Storm’s federal trial in Manhattan neared its conclusion. Qureshi, whose investment firm backed several blockchain startups, wrote on social media that federal prosecutor Nathan Rehn told the […] The post DOJ clarifies Dragonfly is not a target as Tornado Cash co-founder trial nears conclusion appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Venture capital firm Dragonfly said Friday that the U.S. government is weighing potential charges over its 2020 investment in PepperSec, the developer of Tornado Cash, marking a rare instance where federal prosecutors may target a venture investor for backing a crypto project. In a detailed statement, Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi called the prospect of […] The post Venture investor Dragonfly faces potential charges over Tornado Cash involvement appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Dragonfly Capital’s early investment in Tornado Cash could expose the firm to potential legal action from the DOJ. Dragonfly Capital could be the target of federal charges stemming from its early investment in Tornado Cash developer PepperSec, Inc., but the venture firm says it is prepared to “vigorously defend” itself if prosecutors pursue the case. In a Friday social media post, Dragonfly Capital managing partner Haseeb Qureshi defended the firm’s early backing of Tornado Cash — an open-source protocol that allows users to obscure blockchain transactions — dating back to August 2020. “We made this investment because we believe in the importance of open-source privacy-preserving technology,” said Qureshi, adding that the company had consulted outside legal counsel before investing and was assured Tornado Cash was compliant. Read more

The second week of the Roman Storm trial kicked off with Judge Katherine Failla allowing a witness to testify that Tornado Cash could have been modified to prevent criminal use. A federal judge overseeing Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm’s criminal trial will allow jurors to hear testimony claiming he could have modified the platform “to deter criminals from using it.” In a Sunday order, Judge Katherine Failla denied a defense motion requesting to preclude testimony from a government witness over modifications Storm allegedly could have made to Tornado Cash. The witness, Philip Werlau, an investigator at the fraud investigation and Anti-Money Laundering compliance company AnChain.AI, will be allowed to offer testimony that Storm allegedly had the means to stop Tornado Cash from laundering the proceeds of crimes using smart contract features, but chose not to. Read more

Roman Storm’s defense team raised the prospect of a mistrial on July 21 after an FBI agent failed to confirm that the stolen assets from the prosecution’s first witness in his trial had passed through Tornado Cash.  Journalist Matthew Russell Lee reported in real-time today’s session of the trial, highlighting that before the jury could […] The post Roman Storm’s defense hints at mistrial after agents fail to trace funds stolen from witness to Tornado Cash appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Storm’s lawyers say their client had nothing to do with the criminals using Tornado Cash. Prosecutors say he was capable of stopping them, and chose not to.

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm took to Twitter with an urgent plea for support, ahead of his high-profile trial date tomorrow. Storm, who has been battling legal charges for nearly two years, is calling on the crypto community to help raise $500,000 in the next few days and $1.5 million in the coming weeks to […] The post Urgent appeal to help defend Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm and the right to financial privacy appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm’s lawyers have signaled that they may request a brief delay in his upcoming criminal trial if a judge allows testimony from a hacker who allegedly used the platform, according to July 10 court filings. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Storm’s […] The post Tornado Cash co-founder may seek trial delay amid witness dispute appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The judge reportedly said she would not be inclined to have attorneys bring up the US Treasury’s 2022 sanctions against Tornado Cash after they were withdrawn in March. The judge overseeing the US criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm said she was “inclined” to disallow any mention of the 2022 sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixing service in court.  According to reporting from Inner City Press on Tuesday, Judge Katherine Failla of the US District Court of the Southern District of New York said she was unlikely to grant a motion prohibiting the mention of North Korea and the hackers in the Lazarus Group as part of prosecutors’ case against Storm. However, the judge reportedly said she was “inclined to keep out the August 2022 sanctions, since they were later withdrawn.” The sanctions in question referred to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions adding addresses connected to Tornado Cash to its list of Specially Designated Nationals in 2022. Howe...

The dismissal came days before Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was scheduled to face charges in US federal court. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has dismissed an appeal filed by crypto advocacy organization Coin Center against the US Treasury Department over its Office of Foreign Assets Control’s 2022 sanctions against the Tornado Cash mixing service. In a Thursday filing, the appellate court granted a motion to vacate a lower court ruling and remand with instructions to dismiss as part of a joint filing with Coin Center and the US Treasury. The dismissal, according to the court, would essentially conclude Coin Center’s legal challenge against the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In 2022, OFAC added multiple wallet addresses connected to Tornado Cash to its list of sanctioned entities. Coin Center filed a lawsuit alleging that the Treasury Department “exceeded [its] statutory authority” in the sanctions, though there were other lawsuits filed by interested parties, incl...

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on July 3 vacated the Northern District of Florida’s 2023 order upholding the Treasury’s sanctions against Tornado Cash and instructed the lower court to dismiss the case.  The one-page mandate ends the Coin Center v. Yellen appeal, the only remaining case over OFAC’s August 2022 designation of the Ethereum-based […] The post US Court vacates Tornado Cash sanctions ruling, orders Florida case dismissal appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Roman Storm is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom for his criminal trial on July 14, facing money laundering and conspiracy charges. Roman Storm, one of the co-founders and developers behind the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, appeared in a video interview as his US criminal trial is expected to begin in less than two weeks. In an interview released Wednesday by Crypto In America, Storm said his legal team intended to address at trial the allegations that he had personally profited from illicit funds through his role at Tornado Cash. However, he declined to say whether he would testify in his own defense over charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Read more

Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev received renewed support from the crypto community on their respective trials for deploying the open-source code behind the mixer. The Ethereum Foundation on June 12 donated $500,000 to Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s legal defense. It said it will match another $750,000 from public contributors as the […] The post Tornado Cash support: Ethereum Foundation pledges $1M to Storm’s defense, entities boost Pertsev appeal appeared first on CryptoSlate.