According to Foresight News and The Block, Tornado Cash decentralized privacy protocol co-developer Roman Storm was formally tried on July 15 at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York, with the case expected to last four weeks. Prosecutors accuse him of conspiracy to launder money, violating US sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money transfer business, facing up to 45 years in prison if all three charges are proven.
Prosecutors claim that Storm and co-founder Roman Semenov assisted cybercrime groups, including North Korea's Lazarus Group, in laundering over $1 billion through Tornado Cash's mixing tool, referencing the previous money laundering conviction of developer Alexey Pertsev in the Netherlands.
The defense denies the accusations and questions the prosecution's key evidence, including a Telegram message related to the Ronin bridge hack stating "cleaning 600 million dollars". The defense attorney argues that the message actually originated from a journalist and was forwarded by another developer, not Storm. Although prosecutors acknowledge initial evidence labels were misleading, they still request the court reject the motion to exclude evidence.
The defense also opposes the prosecution's use of chat records, text messages, and images obtained via subpoenas from Apple, X (formerly Twitter), and investment firm Dragonfly, claiming they are private communications. However, Judge Katherine Polk Failla has not yet accepted these arguments.
Over $1.9 million has been raised for Storm's legal defense, including a $500,000 donation from the Ethereum Foundation. Supporters believe he merely wrote open-source code and should be protected by free speech, not directly controlling user behavior. Prosecutors, however, emphasize that Tornado Cash's operation is nearly corporate-like, with Storm taking no anti-money laundering measures and ignoring multiple potential risk warnings.
