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Roman Storm Defends Tornado Cash Role, Says He Never Aided Criminals
Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, is seeking an acquittal from a U.S. federal judge, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors misuse the Ethereum-based crypto mixer. The motion, filed on September 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges the sole conviction against Storm for unlicensed money transmission, as well as the jury’s deadlock on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations.
Defense Argues Lack of Criminal Intent
Storm’s legal team claims that the prosecution’s case relies on a negligence theory, not criminal intent. The motion asserts that Storm merely failing to stop malicious actors does not meet the legal standard of willfulness required for conviction.
“Lacking affirmative evidence that Mr. Storm acted with the intent to assist bad actors, the government attempted to meet its willfulness burden by claiming that the defendant failed to prevent misuse,” the motion reads.
Tornado Cash’s Privacy Tech Under Scrutiny
Launched in 2019 by Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, Tornado Cash is a non-custodial privacy tool for Ethereum transactions that uses zero-knowledge proofs to obscure on-chain activity. However, U.S. authorities allege it facilitated the laundering of billions in illicit funds, including crypto tied to North Korean hackers.
Storm was arrested in August 2023, while Semenov was placed on OFAC’s sanctions list. Despite mounting legal pressure, the crypto community has rallied behind Storm, with groups like the Blockchain Association warning the case could set a dangerous precedent for open-source developers.
The Broader Fight for Privacy
Privacy remains a core issue in crypto, as illustrated by recent comments from Vitalik Buterin, who criticized the EU’s “Chat Control” legislation. Meanwhile, experts argue that overly aggressive regulation may push users toward decentralized alternatives that resist oversight entirely.
