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Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York rejected an attempt by Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm to dismiss charges, arguing that legal precedents involving intellectual property do not apply to serious financial crimes.
The case centers on Storm’s alleged role in conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unauthorized money transmitting business. Prosecutors say the volume of funds processed by the protocol—at times linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group—is central to the dispute over whether open-source developers can be held criminally liable.
The refusal follows the defense’s plan to rely on the Cox Communications vs. Sony Music case to argue that Storm lacked criminal intent. Prosecutors countered that Storm’s alleged conduct does not resemble civil liability cases for copyright infringement, according to the prosecution’s position as presented in the article.
The legal landscape is described as more complex after changes in the Department of Justice. The article notes that Todd Blanche, the current Acting Attorney General, has previously expressed opposition to “regulation by prosecution,” a stance Storm has cited in social media posts.
Despite those political statements, prosecutors maintain that there is no evidence Storm implemented effective anti-money laundering measures in the cryptocurrency mixing protocol.
The article frames the dispute between Tornado Cash developers and the U.S. government as likely to shape future debates over privacy on the blockchain. The defense argues for protections tied to the freedom of code, while prosecutors insist on criminal responsibility for alleged illicit use of the platform.
