The jury will decide the fate of Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, after the prosecutor and defense attorney conclude their final arguments on Wednesday in the Southern District of New York Court. This is an important case that could set a precedent for the legal liability of decentralized software developers if their technology is used for illegal purposes.
Storm is accused of money laundering conspiracy, violating US sanctions, and operating an unauthorized money transfer service. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Assistant Prosecutor Ben Gianforti argued that Storm was an accomplice who "helped conceal dirty money" by operating an illegal money mixing service and violating sanctions imposed on North Korea and the Lazarus hacker group. He emphasized that Tornado Cash was used to transfer $350 million from sanctioned wallets after hacks such as Kucoin and Ronin.
"Tornado Cash is a sophisticated online money laundering tool. The service was created to protect criminals' privacy," Gianforti said. "Use your common sense. Roman Storm is guilty."
The defense attorney, David Patton, countered that Tornado Cash is a neutral technological tool, like many other products, which can be abused by criminals without attributing full responsibility to its creator. He stressed that "intent" is crucial to the case: "Knowing that criminals use a tool is not enough to convict — one must prove Storm intentionally helped them."
Patton said Storm did not want Tornado Cash to be exploited and was not happy to discover North Korean hackers using the platform. "This is not a civil negligence case - there must be a clear intent to commit a crime," he said.
The judge has given final instructions, and the jury has now begun deliberations to reach a verdict.
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