U.S. Government Rejects Tornado Cash Developer’s Bid for Acquittal in 3-Charge Case
The has formally rejected the latest attempt by a Tornado Cash developer called Roman Storm to overturn his conviction. Prosecutors urged the court to deny the motion for acquittal, arguing that the developer knowingly aided a platform that became a central tool for laundering billions in illicit funds, including money tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
The opposition filing signals that the is doubling down on its case, which represents another high-stakes moment in one of the most closely watched crypto-crime cases in recent years. Currently, the Tornado Cash developer’s legal battle is one that could define the debate around whether open-source cryptocurrency developers can be held criminally responsible for how their code is used and how aggressively U.S. authorities are enforcing anti-money laundering laws across decentralized platforms.
DOJ Argues the Tornado Cash Developer Was Not a Neutral Programmer
According to court documents referenced by , prosecutors countered the motion for acquittal by arguing that the defendant was not simply a coder writing neutral software. Instead, they claim he was a core contributor who actively assisted maintain, promote, and upgrade Tornado Cash while being fully aware that criminal actors were using it to obscure the movement of stolen or sanctioned funds.
The filing stresses that Tornado Cash was not a passive, autonomous protocol operating outside human decision-making. Prosecutors highlighted its use of relayers, user interface updates, operational servers, and administrative controls — all of which, they argue, point to human involvement that contradicts the defense’s decentralization claim.
With the Tornado Cash case, the government is strengthening its position that when developers knowingly support a platform that consistently allows financial fraud and other illicit activities, they may face the identical liabilities as operators of any traditional service.
Tornado Cash Developer Serves As a Precedent For Web3 Devs
Three charges remain central to the tornado cash developer, Roman Storm’s case. These include conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Prosecutors argue that overwhelming evidence from blockchain analytics, server logs, and internal communications supports the original conviction. They also emphasized Tornado Cash’s documented role in laundering funds from major hacks, including multiple attacks tied to North Korea’s .
This case has drawn worldwide attention because of its potential implications for open-source development. Crypto advocates argue that criminalizing developers sets a dangerous precedent, particularly when the code itself is publicly available and permissionless.
However, the DOJ’s stance signals a sharp counterpoint that if a developer retains meaningful control, continues deployment, or coordinates infrastructure related to a protocol, that activity may elevate them from “coder” to “service provider.”
The decision also intensifies the ongoing debate surrounding privacy, censorship resistance, and developer rights. As high-profile mixer cases unfold in multiple jurisdictions, the Tornado Cash proceedings may become a defining event in how nations regulate and criminalize blockchain privacy infrastructure.
