In a pressing appeal, Crypto innovator Roman Storm, the co-founder of the renowned crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, has sought immediate financial aid of $500,000 in preparation for his looming trial on Monday. Storm is facing serious charges of money laundering and violations of sanctions.
Storm took to social media platform X on Saturday, indicating that he is confronting a “critical deficit” and needs to amass $500,000 in the coming few days. He anticipates that he will require an additional $1 million in the forthcoming weeks to address the escalating costs of his legal defense.
“My team is tirelessly working to uphold code as free speech, safeguard software development, and resist governmental overreach that potentially threatens all of us,” Storm stated.
In May, Free Pertsev & Storm, a body established to offer legal assistance to the Tornado Cash founders, predicted that the total legal expenditure for Storm’s trial would amount to $2 million. However, Storm revealed on Friday that his legal expenses will surge to $3.5 million as his trial could extend up to four weeks, twice as long as the originally projected two weeks, due to “complex legal debates and unexpected witnesses and evidence.”
Storm was apprehended in August 2023 on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an illegal money transmitter, and conspiracy to infringe US sanctions and could face a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison if convicted.
Earlier on Friday, Storm’s legal counsel endeavored to defer the trial, asserting that prosecutors disclosed a witness after the scheduled deadline. However, Judge Katherine Failla, overseeing Storm’s criminal trial, denied any mention of the US Treasury’s sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash, which were rescinded in March.
In April, the DeFi Education Fund, a crypto lobbying group, implored the Trump administration to halt the so-called “lawless prosecution” of open-source software developers, including Roman Storm.
As of now, Storm has managed to raise $1.96 million, approximately 57% of his target amount for the Tornado Cash trial. He is striving to amass a total of $3.5 million. As the donations are primarily made in Ether (ETH), the amount raised can vary. At the moment, ETH is trading at $3,030, marking a 2.9% increase in the past 24 hours, according to Nansen.
Bill Warren of MetaCartel stated that the MetaCartel DAO has contributed all the remaining funds in its treasury to support Storm’s cause. Last month, the Ethereum Foundation pledged to donate $500,000 and match community contributions up to $750,000 for Storm’s legal defense.
