Legitimate Privacy Tool or Dirty Money ‘Laundromat’? Lawyers Debate Role of Tornado Cash on Day 1 of Roman Storm Trial
2025-07-15 23:13:21
Main Idea
The trial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm began, with prosecutors alleging he facilitated money laundering for criminals, including North Korea's Lazarus Group, while his defense argues he created a privacy tool misused by bad actors.
Key Points
1. Roman Storm is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, facing up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
2. Prosecutors claim Storm knowingly allowed Tornado Cash to be used by criminals, including the Lazarus Group, to launder money and evade U.S. sanctions.
3. Storm's defense argues he created Tornado Cash as a privacy tool and had no direct involvement with criminals who misused it, comparing it to other technologies that can be exploited.
4. A scam victim testified about losing $200,000 in a pig butchering scam involving crypto, highlighting the misuse of Tornado Cash by bad actors.
5. The trial is expected to last three weeks, with more witnesses scheduled to testify.
Description
NEW YORK — There is at least one fact that both the defense and the prosecution agree in the ongoing criminal money laundering trial of software developer Roman Storm: the product he helped to create and run — a once-popular crypto privacy tool called Tornado Cash — was exploited by hackers and cyber criminals to launder their dirty money. What the parties do not agree on, and the fundamental question at the heart of Storm’s trial, is whether Storm was able to prevent this behavior, whether he k...
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