Roman Storm, co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, was arrested on money laundering and other offenses on August 23. According to his lawyer, he was released on bail shortly after detention by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
On August 24, Storm’s attorney, Brian Klein, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Storm had been released on bond.
Klein stated that he is “extremely dissatisfied” that the developer was charged solely because he participated in software creation. He continued:
“Their novel legal theory has dangerous implications for all software developers.”
The bail was set the day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced Storm’s arrest and allegations against founders Storm and Roman Semenov on August 23.
The U.S. authority charged the developers with operating the mixing services and allegedly laundering more than $1 billion in “criminal proceeds.” Additional charges are associated with “conspiracy to violate sanctions” and “conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business.”
The latest news comes approximately one year after the U.S. Treasury Department added Tornado Cash-related addresses to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s list of Specially Designated Nationals. Subsequently, Dutch authorities apprehended Alexey Pertsev, another Tornado Cash developer.
In April 2023, after spending nearly nine months in prison, the developer was released from imprisonment.
However, Pertsev and Storm are not the only developers prosecuted concerning Tornado Cash. Roman Semenov, another co-founder, was added to OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons on August 23. The perpetrator is still at large.
