Roman Storm, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, has submitted an appeal to dismiss all three charges accusing him of running an illegal money-washing business and transgressing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. His legal team contended in a March 29 filing that there is no sound reasons to believe that Storm conspired to launder money.
The defense argued that Tornado Cash was developed, became immutable, and was publicly accessible prior to it being used by hacking groups that were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. They, therefore, claimed that by the time the alleged misconduct took place, Storm was seemingly in a position where he could do little to stop a sanctioned entity from using the platform.
The complaints are largely based on allegations that Tornado Cash played a role in aiding North Korea’s Lazarus Group in evading U.S. sanctions, thereby allegedly facilitating funding for the nation’s nuclear program. Furthermore, the counsel argued that Tornado Cash does not qualify as a money transmitting business since it did not levy a fee for transferring funds, and users maintained full control over their crypto assets.
The defense team has argued that Storm’s intention was to create software solutions to ensure financial privacy for law-abiding cryptocurrency users. They claimed that the charge should be dismissed, calling them fatally flawed. Storm, who pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $2 million bond after his arrest in September 2023, can only travel within specific regions of New York, New Jersey, Washington, and California.
These legal proceedings coincide with a broader crackdown by the U.S. government on crypto-mixing services. Despite the ongoing legal battles, the majority of the crypto community still values the enhanced privacy that crypto mixers provide for valid business transactions. Previously, the Arbitrum DAO has contemplated devoting around $1.3 million worth of ARB tokens to aid Storm’s legal fees, but the proposal was withdrawn, and the reason remains unknown.