The co-founder of the mixer is challenging his conviction for unlicensed money transmission, arguing that there is no evidence of intent.
Roman Storm, one of the creators of Tornado Cash, has filed a motion in a U.S. federal court to overturn his conviction for transmitting money without a license. The defense argues that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence proving that Storm intended to facilitate illicit activities through the mixing protocol.
Legal arguments
According to legal filings submitted on September 30 to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Storm’s attorneys claim the government failed to prove the existence of a deliberate intent to aid malicious actors in using the platform. This element, the defense argues, invalidates the basis of a conviction founded on negligent omission.
“Storm and bad actors was a claim that he knew they were using Tornado Cash and failed to take sufficient measures to stop them. This is a negligence theory,” the motion states.
Tornado Cash is a decentralized, non-custodial protocol built on Ethereum smart contracts that uses zero-knowledge proof cryptography to enhance transaction privacy. Launched by Roman Storm and Roman Semenov in 2019, the service allows users to break the on-chain traceability of their ether.
The protocol drew the attention of regulators primarily because it was allegedly used to launder billions of dollars in illicit funds, including money linked to North Korean hackers. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) accused Tornado Cash of facilitating money laundering, stating it had processed more than $7 billion in digital assets since 2019, with 30% allegedly tied to illegal activities.
The arrest and consequences for the founders
Storm was arrested in late August 2023 by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Washington, D.C. His co-founder, Semenov, was added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list. At the end of August, a U.S. Department of Justice official opposed a new trial for Storm.
The case has sparked strong criticism within the digital asset industry. In August, the Blockchain Association, a pro-crypto lobbying group in the U.S., stated that Storm’s conviction could set a “dangerous” precedent for developers and privacy. The association also stressed that Storm had no control over the cryptocurrencies flowing through the protocol.
