Tornado Cash Founder Guilty of Unlicensed Business Operation

Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was convicted Wednesday of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, while the jury deadlocked on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate North Korea sanctions.

Jury Convicts Storm on 1 Count; Deadlocked on Money Laundering, North Korea Sanctions

The verdict followed five days of deliberations, which began last week when jurors initially reported being deadlocked on at least one count. Prosecutors had urged Judge Katherine Polk Failla to instruct the jury to continue deliberating for a full verdict, Inner City Press reported.

Roman Storm faced three felony counts stemming from his role in creating the cryptocurrency mixing service. Prosecutors alleged Tornado Cash laundered over $1 billion in criminal proceeds, including funds for North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

The conviction, reported by Inner City Press, on the unlicensed money transmitting charge represents a partial victory for the government. The deadlock on the money laundering and sanctions conspiracy charges means no verdict was reached on those counts. Sentencing will occur at a later date.

Immediately after the verdict, prosecutors moved to remand Storm to prison, arguing he posed a flight risk due to his Russian citizenship and past statements about asylum options. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arad alleged Storm had “advised people how to cheat the immigration system.” Defense attorney Keri Axel countered that Storm remained on bond secured by his house and had surrendered his passport. Judge Failla took the matter under advisement.

Storm’s defense maintained he was merely a developer of open-source software and lacked control over Tornado Cash after its launch. The case is seen as a landmark test of developer liability for decentralized finance (DeFi) tools. The outcome sets a precedent but still leaves unresolved questions.