Tornado Cash Legal Saga: DOJ Presents Evidence of Developer Control

• The U.S. DOJ rejected the request of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm to dismiss criminal charges.
• DOJ believes the defense’s filing carries disputed facts that are more suitable for jury consideration.
• The DOJ presented screenshots to illustrate the disputed functionality of Tornado Cash.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice rejected Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s request to dismiss criminal charges. They argued that the defense’s filing contained disputed facts more suitable for jury consideration than early-stage motion arguments. 

For context, Storm and fellow developer Roman Semenov face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering . The U.S. government alleged the crypto developers of operating an unlicensed money transmitter and violating laws by creating Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service anonymizing blockchain transactions. 

U.S. authorities have alleged that entities like North Korea’s Lazarus Group have laundered funds through Tornado Cash. Meanwhile, Storm’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the indictment late last month.

They contend that Tornado Cash does not qualify as a custodial mixing service, nor does it meet the criteria of a “financial institution.” Moreover, the lawyers argued that Storm lacked control over the service and could not prevent groups like Lazarus from utilizing it. 

Accordingly, they refute accusations of operating a money laundering entity. The defense emphasized that developing software code for mixing a service does not equate to running a money laundering operation. 

However, in its filing on Friday, the DOJ countered the defense’s characterization of Tornado Cash. They pointed out that Tornado Cash encompasses various elements such as a website, user interface, smart contracts, and a network of “relayers.”

The DOJ stated that dismissing the indictment based on contested views of how Tornado Cash operated or Storm’s intent would be unconstitutional. They argued that Storm and his co-founders retained control over the mixer from 2019 to August 2022.

Moreover, the DOJ presented screenshots to illustrate the disputed functionality of Tornado Cash.

Screenshot evidence in the filing

Essentially, the filing extensively references evidence that the DOJ intends to introduce at trial, highlighting Storm’s involvement in building and developing the system, the usage patterns of Tornado Cash, and other details. Notably, Storm is scheduled for trial this September, while Semenov remains at large.