More than two weeks after opening statements in the federal trial of Roman Storm – a software developer and co-creator of the crypto privacy tool Tornado Cash – the jury is currently deliberating in a case that could shape the legal future of decentralized finance (DeFi).
The trial, unfolding in the Southern District of New York, focuses on Storm and his co-founder, Roman Semenov, who was added to the U.S. sanctions list in August 2023 and remains at large. Prosecutors allege the two knowingly enabled money laundering through Tornado Cash, even as they publicly promoted it as a privacy tool.
Storm faces three federal conspiracy charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) through sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 45 years in prison.
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