Source: Cointelegraph
Original: (The trial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm continues, with charges slightly reduced)
U.S. federal prosecutors continue to advance the case against Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm, but will drop a small portion of the indictment after the Department of Justice withdrew some cryptocurrency enforcement last month.
Manhattan Acting U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated in a letter to Federal Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla on May 15 that the charges against Storm remain valid, with only the part regarding conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business being removed.
Clayton wrote: 'After reviewing this case, this office and the Deputy Attorney General's office conclude that this prosecution aligns with the letter and spirit of the Deputy Attorney General's memo dated April 7, 2025.'
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a memo in April that the Department of Justice will terminate the so-called 'regulatory through prosecution' approach to cryptocurrency and added that the agency would not prosecute due to 'end-user behaviors or unintentional regulatory violations' related to cryptocurrency mixers like Tornado Cash.
Clayton added that the indictment against Storm will remove the charge that he failed to comply with money transmission business registration requirements. Prosecutors had previously pursued this charge against Storm based on the allegation that he conspired to operate Tornado Cash as an unlicensed money transmission service.
The government will continue to pursue the charge against Storm for transmitting funds while knowing they were derived from criminal activity or intended to support illegal activities.
The Department of Justice claims that Tornado Cash helped launder over $1 billion in cryptocurrency, including services for the sanctioned North Korean state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus Group.
Clayton stated that the Department of Justice will also continue to pursue two additional charges in the indictment, namely one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions.
Conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating sanctions each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business carries a maximum sentence of 5 years.
Storm has pleaded not guilty, with his trial scheduled for July 14. He has been charged alongside another founder, Roman Semenov, who is currently at large and believed to be in his home country of Russia.
Other cryptocurrency executives facing charges have also cited Blanche's memo in an attempt to have their cases dismissed.
Co-founders of the cryptocurrency mixer Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, cited this memo in an attempt to dismiss their charges of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business and money laundering conspiracy.
The CEO of cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, Braden John Karony, also referenced the memo in an attempt to dismiss charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy against him.
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