On Wednesday, two co-founders of Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency mixing service, were charged with US federal money laundering and sanctions violations.
The Co-founders Of Tornado Cash Face Charges
On Wednesday, two co-founders of Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency mixing service, were charged with US federal money laundering and sanctions violations, according to prosecutors.
One of the co-founders, Roman Storm, was detained on Wednesday in relation to the allegations. The cooperative investigation was highlighted in a joint statement by numerous US agencies, including the FBI, the Criminal Division of the IRS, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, and others.
Storm’s business partner, Roman Semenov, was also included on the list of specially designated nationals maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). They are accused of facilitating the laundering of more than $1 billion in "criminal proceeds" using Tornado Cash's mixing service, according to the indictment.
The move to add Semenov to OFAC's list signals an escalation of US investigations into Tornado Cash, a service designed to enhance transaction privacy. The US Treasury has been involved in an ongoing lawsuit related to the matter.
Semenov and Storm are accused of conspiring to launder money, violate sanctions, and run an unauthorized money-transfer operation, among other things. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s capacity to generate money through illegal means is disrupted by these steps, according to the State Department, which also aims to protect the integrity of the financial system, including the ecosystem supporting virtual currencies.
The charges and sanctions represent the US government's increasing focus on cryptocurrency-related financial crime.
