Roman Storm, one of the co-founders behind Tornado Cash, is officially heading to trial after a U.S. judge rejected his bid to dismiss the case. The ruling came down during a Sept. 26 conference call, where Southern District of New York Judge Katherine Polk Failla made her decision clear. Despite his attempts to shut down the charges, Storm will now face trial on accusations tied to laundering over $1 billion in dirty crypto.
Judge Rejects Free Speech Defense
Storm, along with fellow co-founder Roman Semenov, faces accusations of being part of a conspiracy to commit money laundering through the Tornado Cash mixer. Prosecutors believe the pair were aware that criminals used their platform to wash illicit funds. They charged both men with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). Each of those charges carries a max sentence of 20 years. There’s also an extra five years hanging over them for allegedly running an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Storm’s argument, based on his First Amendment rights, tried to frame his role as a software developer as free speech. But Judge Failla wasn’t convinced. She ruled that “functional capability” of code doesn’t count as protected speech. The government’s focus on busting money laundering and sanction evasion, she added, has nothing to do with free speech.
Tornado Cash Under the Microscope
Tornado Cash has become infamous as a tool used to hide the origin and destination of crypto transactions. It promised privacy, but that privacy came with a dark side. North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which many believe has been responsible for major cyber thefts, reportedly used Tornado Cash to launder funds stolen in hacking schemes. These ties to state-backed hacking ops have put the platform under intense scrutiny from authorities.
The trial is set to kick off in December and is expected to stretch over two weeks. The legal team defending Storm has argued that prosecuting a developer for writing code sets a dangerous precedent. But the U.S. government doesn’t see it that way—they see Storm and Semenov as facilitators of a global financial network used by criminals.
Semenov, meanwhile, remains out of reach as he’s still in Russia, complicating the case even further.
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