According to a report by “The Block,” the defense team of Roman Storm, co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, has submitted a series of new documents in an attempt to overturn the US government’s prosecution of the developer before the trial begins.
After the prosecution responded to Storm’s motion to dismiss, Storm’s defense team submitted a reply last Friday (24th), reiterating that the case should be dismissed on the grounds that the government failed to sufficiently prove his active involvement in the criminal activities alleged in the indictment. The motion states:
The majority of the content in this document questions the government’s characterization of Tornado Cash as a “money transmitting business,” a claim that has even caught the attention of US Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis, who have opposed the government’s interpretation of the term. Their letter of opposition is also included in Storm’s motion. Storm’s lawyers argue that describing Tornado as a money transmitter “…violates due process, lenity principles, and principles against retroactivity.”
Questioning the government’s evidence collection
In other motions, Storm’s lawyers argue that government prosecutors should be compelled to produce certain communications with Dutch authorities and that the seizure of his cryptocurrency hardware wallet constitutes a “comprehensive attack on the Fourth Amendment.”
Storm’s lawyers argue that the government should not be allowed to freely inspect Storm’s private keys on the blockchain and “seize ‘any and all’ cryptocurrencies they believe belong to Mr. Storm and transfer those cryptocurrencies to their own wallets.” The lawyers also point out that the government itself admits that they are unsure how to link any recovered cryptocurrencies to any alleged illegal activities, stating, “Instead, the government is simply on a fishing expedition to see if they can find evidence of a crime.”
However, in its opposition to Storm’s motion to dismiss, the government points out that pretrial dismissals are extremely rare in cases like this. The prosecution argues, “In fact, the vast majority of Defendant’s arguments for dismissal of the indictment are factual assertions that are more appropriately addressed to a jury, rather than a motion asserting that the indictment is legally insufficient on its face.”
The hearing for Roman Storm’s motion is scheduled for July 12th at the Southern District Court of New York.
Related report: “Tornado Cash mixer protocol developer Alexey Pertsev sentenced to 64 months in prison for money laundering.”
