DOJ Disputes Roman Storm’s Stance on Tornado Cash Operations in New Filing
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has challenged the claims made by Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash, in his attempt to dismiss a criminal indictment against him. According to a filing made on Friday, the DOJ asserted that Tornado Cash was indeed a money transmitting business, and it expects the evidence it presents to support the charges.
In response to Storm’s motion to dismiss the charges, the DOJ stated that the defense filing included disputed facts that should be evaluated by a jury and not treated as arguments for an early-stage motion. The charges against Storm and his fellow developer, Roman Semenov, include conspiring to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitter, and violating sanctions law through the creation and operation of Tornado Cash. U.S. authorities have alleged that criminal entities, including North Korea’s Lazarus Group, have used Tornado Cash for money laundering purposes.
Storm’s defense team argued that Tornado Cash is not a custodial mixing service and does not meet the criteria of a “financial institution.” They also contended that Storm had no control over the service and could not prevent entities like Lazarus Group from using it. The defense maintained that merely developing the code for the project does not equate to operating a money laundering entity.
The DOJ disputed the defense’s characterization of Tornado Cash, stating that it was introduced as a mixer in 2019 and comprised a website, user interface, a combination of smart contracts, and a network of relayers. They emphasized that Storm cannot dismiss the charges by presenting his own contested view of how Tornado Cash operated or his self-serving intent when taking certain actions.
Furthermore, the DOJ challenged Storm’s claims about the functionality of the Tornado Cash interface and the level of control individual users possessed over deposits and withdrawals. The filing included screenshots to support the government’s position and argued that Storm and his co-founders retained control over the mixer at least during the period referenced in the charging document (2019 to August 2022).
The filing repeatedly referred to the evidence that the DOJ plans to introduce during the trial, providing insights into how Storm and other Tornado Cash founders built and developed the system, as well as details about user activities.
While Storm is scheduled to stand trial in September, Semenov remains at large.