Tornado Cash Co-Founder Freed on Bail: US Prosecutors Slammed

• Roman Storm, one of the co-founders of the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, was arrested earlier this week for alleged money laundering and involvement with North Korean hacking collective Lazarus Group.
• His attorney Brian Klein revealed that his client is now out on bail and expressed his disappointment with the arrest as he believes prosecutors’ “novel legal theory” could impact the operations of all software developers.
• Storm has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unauthorized money-transfer business, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions.

Tornado Cash Co-Founder Freed on Bail

Roman Storm – one of the co-founders of the crypto mixer Tornado Cash – is no longer detained, currently being out on bail. The US authorities arrested the individual earlier this week over allegations that his entity facilitated money laundering operations and was involved with the North Korean hacking collective – the Lazarus Group.

Storm Out On Bail

Roman Storm’s attorney – Brian Klein – revealed that his client is out on bail (without disclosing the amount of money posted for the release). He shared his disappointment with the detention, saying Storm aided the advancement of a software. In addition, he believes the US prosecutors’ “novel legal theory” could impact the operations of all software developers.

Allegations Against Storm

American law enforcement agents arrested Storm on August 23, accusing him and his associate Roman Semenov (another co-founder of Tornado Cash) of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unauthorized money-transfer business, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Prosecutors also allege that both individuals were partaking in transactions related to cryptocurrency thefts which occurred back in 2018.

Implication For Software Developers

Considering that authorities have laid charges against a software developer instead of directly acting against illegal activities by users presents a worrying precedent according to Klein. He also suggested that such legal theories have dangerous implications for all software developers who are otherwise aiding innovation in their respective fields.

Conclusion

Despite those warnings from Klein however, it appears as if investigators are still treating such cases much like any other financial crime investigation where they look into every individual involved in order to prosecute their case successfully going forward.