Roman Storm, one of the founders of the Ethereum-based crypto mixer Tornado Cash, which faced sanctions, has refuted the allegations against him related to money laundering and violations of sanctions.
On Wednesday, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Storm entered his plea of not guilty, as reported by Inner City Press.
As per the report from Inner City Press, the forthcoming trial will involve “multiple terabytes” of evidence obtained from Dutch officials, with parts of it being encrypted.
The report further mentioned that the court case will contain “some classified materials” and will address incidents involving several individuals who fell victim to cyber hacks.
Charged with helping Lazarus Group
Roman Storm faces grave accusations, chiefly those concerning sanctions violations. The Department of Justice (DOJ) asserts that he played a role in aiding North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group of hackers through these breaches.
The prosecution claims that the funds channeled from the Lazarus Group via Tornado Cash were eventually allocated to bolster North Korea’s nuclear armament endeavors.
Storm was taken into custody towards the end of August but was later released upon posting a $2 million bond.
To further ensure compliance with the conditions of his release, his Russian passport has been confiscated by officials. Furthermore, his movements have been restricted, limiting him to specific regions within New York, New Jersey, Washington, and California.
It’s worth noting that Storm holds dual citizenship, being a national of both the U.S. and Russia.
Several arrests
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has leveled charges against Roman Storm alongside his co-founder, Roman Semenov. Semenov, however, remains at large and has not been arrested.
The charges stem from allegations that both individuals, through their association with the crypto mixer, played a role in laundering in excess of $1 billion.
In 2022, Tornado Cash faced sanctions imposed by the US government. Shortly after these sanctions were applied, another co-founder of the protocol, Alexey Pertsev, was detained in Amsterdam.
As of now, Pertsev continues to be held in the Netherlands, where he awaits his trial.
