US DOJ Refuses to Drop Charges Against Tornado Cash Founder
US DOJ Refuses to Drop Charges Against Tornado Cash Founder
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is standing firm in its case against Roman Semenov, one of the co-founders of the controversial cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash.
Accordingly, federal prosecutors opposed Semenov's motion to dismiss the conspiracy and money laundering charges leveled against him.
In a recent filing, the US DOJ argued that Semenov's defense raised factual disputes unsuitable for dismissal at this early stage, stating these matters should be left for a jury to decide at trial.
This response systematically laid out why the Tornado Cash co-founder should face accountability for his alleged crimes related to the firm.
Subsequently, the government agency contends that Tornado Cash was introduced explicitly as a crypto-mixing service designed to conceal the origins of digital assets.
In line with this, Semenov and his co-founders were initially charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitter business, and violating American sanctions by developing Tornado Cash.
Correspondingly, authorities claim the mixer was used by notorious cybercriminal groups like North Korea's Lazarus Group to launder illicit funds.
In 2023, Semenov's co-founder pleaded not guilty and was released on a $2.00 million bond while subject to travel restrictions.
Eventually, Semenov's legal team filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing he merely contributed code but lacked control over Tornado Cash's use by bad actors, according to Traders Union’s report.
However, the DOJ filing accused Semenov of intentionally designing systems to provide criminal elements with anonymity tools, criticizing him and his partner for failing to implement sufficient controls to exclude sanctioned crypto addresses.
Remarkably, this case forms part of a broader US government offensive against crypto mixing services alleged to enable money laundering and sanctions evasion.
On April 24, Cointelegraph reported that the founders of another mixer called Samourai Wallet were arrested on similar charges.
