The United States Department of Justice rejected the proposal for dismissal of charges from the legal team of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash: the details.
Through a 111-page document, on April 26th, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) rejected a proposal for dismissal of charges of conspiracy and money laundering against Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash.
The two creators, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, have been accused of conspiracy and money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transfer service, and violating international sanctions through the creation of Tornado Cash. U.S. authorities allege that entities like the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group used Tornado Cash to launder funds. The two founders face a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.
Last September, Storm pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released after posting a $2 million bail. He is currently subject to travel restrictions outside certain areas of New York, New Jersey, Washington, and California.
Storm’s fate will be determined by a jury next September.
Critics of the service management
Prosecutors believe that Storm is responsible for the operation of the mixing service, arguing that he developed a system that facilitates anonymity for criminals and illicit activities. In the document, it can be read how prosecutors criticize the founders of Tornado Cash for not making changes to the code in such a way as to exclude addresses subject to sanctions and associated with criminal activities.
According to the DOJ, Tornado Cash was a commercial enterprise and Storm profited from controlling the service.
