US Charges Loom for Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm

The US Department of Justice plans to file criminal charges against Roman Storm, developer and co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, according to Decrypt, citing a department representative.

Federal prosecutors allege that Storm conspired to launder money, evade US sanctions, and operate an unlicensed money transmission business through Tornado Cash.

The trial is set to begin in less than two months. Recent court documents reveal that prosecutors have agreed to drop part of the charges related to operating an unlicensed money transmission business, acknowledging inconsistencies with federal regulations.

In 2019, FinCEN clarified that “non-custodial entities,” such as Tornado Cash, are not classified as money transmitters.

“A provider of anonymizing software is not a money transmitter. The rules exclude from the definition those who provide only delivery, communication, or network access services used to transmit funds,” the agency’s guidance states.

The proceedings against Storm continue despite an internal memo circulated last month indicating a shift in the Justice Department’s approach to cases involving cryptocurrency mixing services. It noted that the agency would focus on prosecuting individuals using crypto tools for criminal purposes, rather than the platforms themselves.

Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev was sentenced in May 2022 to over five years in prison for laundering $1.2 billion through the mixer, but in February 2025 was released under electronic monitoring pending appeal.

Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the OFAC in August 2022 due to its role in money laundering. According to US authorities, since the service’s inception, over $7 billion has been funneled through it by malicious actors, including the North Korean group Lazarus.

In January 2025, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the sanctions due to “overreach” by OFAC and remanded the case to the Western District of Texas for further proceedings.

In March, the Office removed over 100 Ethereum addresses of the crypto mixer from the “blacklist.”

At the end of April, a US federal court prohibited OFAC from reimposing or renewing sanctions against the Tornado Cash service.