Simply put
- Storm was found guilty of operating an unauthorized remittance service.
- The jury could not reach a verdict on the charges related to money laundering and sanctions violations.
- Prosecutors requested that Storm be taken into custody, citing his connections to Russia.
A judge in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday that Roman Storm was guilty of conspiracy in running an unlicensed gold transfer operation. This was one of three charges faced by the Tornado Cash developers.
The jury had trouble making a decision about a separate conspiracy charge related to money laundering and sanctions.
After four days of deliberation, the jury reached a partial verdict. As discussions progressed, Judge Katherine Faria urged New Yorkers to continue deliberating in hopes of reaching an agreement on all charges.
Storm was charged in 2023 with conspiracy to commit money laundering, sanctions violations, and conspiracy to run an unauthorized remittance service.
Preparing for a potential retrial came about a week after closing arguments were made by both the prosecution and Storm’s defense team. This case could significantly impact developers’ ability to create open-source software without fearing prosecution, according to privacy advocates.
Federal prosecutors highlighted Storm’s ties to Russia and requested that he be remanded to custody while the government considers its next steps. As of 1 PM Eastern time, they hadn’t confirmed whether the two unresolved counts would lead to a retrial.
The Roman Storm was convicted of conspiracy to operate an unauthorized remittance business under section 1960. The jury was unable to reach a conclusion on money laundering and sanctions violations. The DOJ will decide soon whether to retry these claims in a new trial.
It’s a sad day for DeFi.
– Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) August 6, 2025
Storm’s attorneys argued during the three-week trial that Tornado Cash wasn’t primarily designed for hackers looking to obscure illegal transactions, claiming it was meant to provide “tools for ordinary people” to send and receive funds privately. The government’s stance dismissed this as a misleading narrative, suggesting that Storm aimed to benefit criminals by facilitating money laundering.
This verdict reflects years of government efforts to clamp down on coin mixers, which obscure the flow of digital assets by pooling funds.
The imposed sanctions were later deemed unlawful and lifted; however, the U.S. Treasury had blacklisted Tornado Cash for Americans in August 2022. At that time, it was reported that around $7 billion had been funneled through this protocol since its launch in 2019, often associated with the North Korean-affiliated Lazarus Group.
In recent weeks, jurors heard testimonies from both hackers and fraud victims. One witness reported losing $250,000 to a scammer who utilized Tornado Cash, but this was contested by Storm’s defense as the claim was flawed. Storm’s lawyers also accused the prosecution of misrepresenting communication from key Telegram messages.
