DOJ to press on with criminal charges against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm

The US Ministry of Justice does not intend to abolish its federal criminal charges against Tornado Cash The developer and co -founder Roman Storm, Decrypt informed on May 15 and quoted the resources in the Doz.

The decision to move on the sequel comes in spite of internal note Last month, he signaled a potential shift in how the agency is dealing with cases involving cryptocurrency services.

Storm will judge of federal accusations, including money washing and sanctions.

Criminal accusation

Federal prosecutors claim that the storm has conspired that the washing funds, avoiding US sanctions and operate unlicensed money transmitting money through a tornado cash, an Ethereum-Mixér of coins based on the origin and target of crypto transactions.

Storm’s court will be launched in the federal courtroom in Manhattan in less than two months. The latest court submission shows that prosecutors agreed to cancel one part of the fee related to the operation of a non -cultivated trade in money, confirming the irregularities with the federal instructions.

In 2019, the financial crime enforcement network has explained that “non-confinement”, such as Tornado cash, are not classified as money transmitters. The partial return of the reach emphasizes the tension between the enforcement and the developers of the decentralized software.

Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director of Defi Education, said Decrypt that technologists who create neutral privacy tools should not be kept “disproportionate criminal standards”.

Her comments reflect sentiment predominant among the leaders of the industryIncluding co -founder Ethereum Vitalik buterinproceed The support of the storm.

The case to continue despite the postponement of attitude

The re -confirmation of the accusation against Storm is followed by an inner remark leak, which the agency would now prefer the persecution of individuals who use crypto tools for criminal purposes rather than to prosecute the platforms themselves.

The shift has been interpreted as a sign developing policy under the more crypto Trump management. However, it does not intend to abolish its accusation against Storm.

In September, US district judge Katherine Polk Failla rejected his proposal to releaseThe decision that the use of a computer code to facilitate money laundering is not protected according to the first amendment, despite the storm requirements for the protection of freedom of expression for its code.

In 2022, the US Treasury approved Tornado cash and claimed that the protocol made it easier for more than $ 7 billion in illegal transactions.

In March, however quietly removed Tornado cash from its list of sanctions after the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, which it considered unchanged Intelligent contracts cannot be sanctioned as property.

Storm’s co -opera, Alexey Pertsevwas sentenced to more than five years in prison last year Issued under electronic monitoring in February until further notice.

The Doj, Storm and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment at the time of the press.

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