A US federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss the litigation, and Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, is now preparing to stand trial on money laundering charges.
Tornado Cash is a cryptocurrency aggregator that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. Roman Storm, Tornado Cash’s co-founder, is currently facing three allegations from the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Each charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, and a conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison term of five years.
Executive Storm’s motion to discharge the lawsuit was denied, and he is scheduled to appear at trial. Roman Storm’s attorneys contended that the Tornado Cash co-founders’ involvement in the crypto aggregator and the funds routed through it is restricted to the development of the software, which is protected by the First Amendment. Nevertheless, District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) denied Storm’s motion for the dismissal of the criminal charges, stating that the argument was insufficient to counteract the US Department of Justice’s complaint, according to a Coindesk report on the matter.
In the opinion of Judge Failla, the government’s allegations against the Tornado Cash developer were plausible, and the functional capability of the code does not constitute as free expression.
Roman Storm is currently at trial for money laundering and conspiracy allegations, and the co-founder is also facing a prison sentence.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former CEO of Binance, completed his prison sentence on Friday, September 27. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $2,664, which is above the $2,600 support level.
Also Read: BNB Makes Minor Gains After Changpeng Zhao’s Release
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