Tornado Cash Founder Trial Postponed to December

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As a seasoned crypto investor, I’ve seen my fair share of legal battles involving cryptocurrencies and their associated technologies. The ongoing trial of Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, is particularly intriguing due to its complexities and potential implications for the wider crypto community.

As a crypto investor following the developments surrounding Tornado Cash, I’ve learned that a federal judge has granted a delay in the trial of Roman Storm, one of its co-founders. The trial, initially set for September, will now be held during the first two weeks of December. This decision comes after an extended legal battle regarding the true nature and legitimacy of Tornado Cash.

Judge Grants Delay in Tornado Cash Trial

Katherine Polk Failla, Judge of the Southern District of New York, granted the delay request based on the complexity of the case’s legal issues, which merit thorough examination by Storm’s defense team. The defense attorney requested additional time to carefully analyze the evidence and construct their trial strategy with a target start date in January 2025.

As the analyst, I reached a conclusion in early December, emphasizing the significance of being well-prepared.

As a researcher, I’m excited to share that Judge Failla has granted the motion filed by Roman Storm to postpone his criminal trial regarding the use of Tornado Cash until December 2nd. The intriguing details of this significant court proceeding will be covered comprehensively in an upcoming write-up.

— David Z. Morris, PhD (@davidzmorris) July 12, 2024

At the court hearing, defense attorneys requested access to a wider range of documents and contested the accusations against Storm. They maintain that Storm developed privacy software named Tornado Cash and relinquished control over it after May 1st, 2020. Consequently, they argue that it is unjust to hold Storm accountable for the actions of Tornado Cash users, including alleged money laundering activities by North Korean hackers.

Legal Arguments and Core Issues

As an analyst, I would rephrase it as follows: The crux of this trial revolves around the question of whether Roman Storm can be held accountable for the actions of Tornado Cash users. According to the prosecution’s argument, Storm and his colleagues had the responsibility to prevent unlawful activities on their platform by barring transactions linked to criminals.

As a crypto investor, I would put it this way: I acknowledge their point that the smart contracts of Tornado Cash are immutable, meaning they can’t be altered once deployed. However, it’s essential to clarify that my involvement with the platform ended in May 2020. I no longer have any control over the service.

Expert: Defense lawyer Brian Klein emphasized that in this money laundering case, the defendant had no authority over the funds in question. On the other hand, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn and the prosecution contended that any business with awareness of illicit activities bears the responsibility to take action against them. Tornado Cash, they argued, failed to do so.

Evidentiary and Procedural Motions

At the hearing, various motions were discussed, among them being the defense request for the disclosure of correspondence between American and Dutch investigative teams. These documents pertain to the investigation and apprehension of Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev in the Netherlands.

The defense team argued that the contested documents held significant value for our case, whereas the prosecution raised objections based on diplomatic sensitivities and tenuous connections between the evidence and their allegations.

Additionally, debates arose regarding the scope of search warrants and the confiscation of digital currencies. The defense argued that as tokens exist on the blockchain rather than in wallets accessible with private keys, they cannot be taken even during a house search.

Judge’s Considerations and Future Rulings

As a researcher studying this case, I can share that Judge Failla will handle the rulings on various motions in due course, including those concerning discovery, limiting searches of Storm’s crypto wallets, and potential dismissal of charges. She expressed apprehension regarding holding developers accountable for criminal actions carried out using their software, drawing parallels to applications like WhatsApp.

While WhatsApp’s activities are protected under the First Amendment and therefore deemed lawful, Tornado Cash’s financial transactions do not share the same legal immunity.

Today, Alexey Pertsev, another Tornado Cash developer, was denied bail by a Dutch court. He was convicted of money laundering offenses and sentenced to over five years in prison for facilitating the laundering of ill-gotten cryptocurrency through TornadoCash.

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2024-07-13 00:24