Reports have emerged that the trial of Tornado Cash’s co-founder and developer, Roman Storm, might proceed without discussing the 2022 sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixing service. This update comes from Judge Katherine Failla, who presides over the US District Court of the Southern District of New York.
The Inner City Press reported Judge Failla’s remarks on Tuesday, indicating a likely denial of a motion to discuss North Korea and the Lazarus Group hackers in the prosecutors’ case against Storm. However, she seemed willing to exclude the August 2022 sanctions, which were eventually repealed.
The sanctions under debate were initiated by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which added addresses linked to Tornado Cash to its Specially Designated Nationals list in 2022. Nonetheless, following a repeal order from a federal judge in a civil case brought by Tornado Cash users, the OFAC rescinded its stance on the crypto mixer in March.
‘The sanctions were withdrawn,’ Judge Failla stated. ‘So [Storm] has consciousness of guilt for something he was not ultimately guilty of.’
Storm was charged in August 2023 with money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Failla is set to decide on the admissible witnesses before the commencement of Storm’s trial on Monday.
Storm’s indictment has led to significant industry figures in the crypto and blockchain sector advocating for the dismissal of the charges. Supporters argue that ‘writing code is not a crime.’ Notably, the Ethereum Foundation, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and Paradigm founder Matt Huang have donated to Storm’s legal fund.
Assuming no delays, Storm’s trial could become a landmark legal event in the crypto industry, following the conviction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky. Additionally, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is facing federal charges relating to securities fraud, commodities fraud, market manipulation, and money laundering following his extradition from Montenegro to the US.
