blockworks.co
The jury in cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s criminal trial handed down a partial verdict Wednesday afternoon after four days of deliberation.
Storm was found guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter business. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the two other counts: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate the IEEPA.
The jury deliberated for four days before coming to a decision on one of the counts. The government could opt to retry Storm on counts one and three.
The prosecution asked that Storm be remanded into custody, citing Storm’s “means” and ties to Russia, where he was born. The judge sided with the defense, determining Storm was not a flight risk and may remain out on bond.
The criminal trial, which spanned about three weeks, concluded last week with lengthy summation arguments from both the prosecution and defense. Storm did not testify during the trial.
Storm and co-developer Roman Semenov were charged in 2023 with three federal counts. Semenov has not faced trial and is currently wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Throughout the trial, the government maintained that Storm, motivated by greed, intentionally helped illicit actors conceal funds through Tornado Cash.
“Tornado Cash made dirty money clean money, and made it impossible to tell the difference,” government attorney Benjamin Gianforti told the jury during his closing statement last week.
Storm’s team never denied that criminals used Tornado Cash, but they insisted that Storm had no criminal intent. Tornado Cash was created as a privacy tool for users who didn’t want their financial transactions made public, defense attorney Keri Axel said during opening statements.
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