A federal judge who oversees the criminal trials of Roman Storm, co-founder and developer of Tornado Cash, allows ju-searchers to hear testimony claiming that the platform can be modified “to prevent criminals from using them.”
In Sunday’s order, Judge Catherine Faira denied a defense claim calling for the elimination of testimony from government witnesses who are allegedly likely to have been added to tornado cash.
Witness Philip Verlau is an investigator at fraud investigations and money laundering compliance company Anchain.ai, and is permitted to choose not to do so, although Storm has the means to stop the means of washing off crime proceeds using the smart contract feature.
“That kind of testimony is permissible,” Faila said. “The defense states that “user registry smart contracts” have actually been used in the blockchain industry.” It may be true, but Werlau can still testify about implementing such features as long as software developers like Storm knew about it. ”
Some of Judge Phila’s Sunday orders deny motions from lawyers for the Roman Storm. Source: Pacer
Monday marks the sixth day of Storm’s criminal trial, where he is charged with money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer machine, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions based on his role in tornado cash. US prosecutors said they expected their case to be concluded by Friday when Storm’s lawyers begin to present their defense.
Related: Things you need to know about the Roman Storm Tornado Cash Trial
Until now, the US government has provided testimony from hackers who have been allegedly using encrypted mixing services to wash illegal funds and lead to FBI forensic accountants and special agents investigating cases. Joel Decapua, a special supervisor for the FBI’s Cybercrimes unit, reportedly testified Thursday that his team discovered 16 incidents each of which moved over $5 million through Tornado’s cash.
What does this incident mean for Storm’s future?
Alexey Pertsev, co-founder and developer of another Tornado Cash, has been arrested, tried and committed a crime of money laundering in connection with Dutch mixed services. In 2024, the judge sentenced him to more than five years in prison.
The US case of Storm could have different outcomes. According to a report from the court, Fila said it was considering accusations in crypto-related cases, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Onecoin co-founder Karl Greenwood and former Opensea product manager Nathaniel Chastain. All three were sentenced to provide time in prison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzncalgknio
The selection of ju judges for the Storm trial began on July 14th. According to Storm, the trial is expected to last three to four weeks.
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