Crypto firm Tornado Cash founders charged with laundering over $1 billion

Shutterstock

Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, founders of Russian cryptocurrency firm Tornado Cash, have been charged with laundering more than $1 billion in illicit funds.

The indictment, recently unveiled and made public, alleges that both Storm and Semenov engaged in money laundering activities, including breaching sanctions, through their involvement with Tornado Cash.

The charges assert that substantial sums, exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars, were directed to the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking group sanctioned by the international community.

The indictment brings forth a trio of charges against the founders. These include conspiring to commit money laundering, violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. While Storm was apprehended on Wednesday in Washington state, the Justice Department's statement indicates that Semenov, a citizen of Russia, remains at large.

James Smith, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said the agency is determined to track down Semenov. "We're treating this like any other fugitive now," Smith remarked in an interview with CNBC. "We're working with law enforcement, outside and inside of our agency, trying to locate and arrest this individual... We will work whatever avenues - whatever we need to do - to arrest, whether it be domestic or international."

Alexey Pertsev, the third co-founder, isn't implicated in this particular legal action. However, he faces a separate trial in Amsterdam concerning his involvement with Tornado Cash.

US Attorney Damian Williams said, "Roman Storm and Roman Semenov allegedly operated Tornado Cash and knowingly facilitated this money laundering.

"While publicly claiming to offer a technically sophisticated privacy service, Storm and Semenov in fact knew that they were helping hackers and fraudsters conceal the fruits of their crimes."

Brian Klein, Storm's legal representative and a partner at Waymaker LLP, conveyed his disappointment regarding the charges. He maintained that the prosecutors' decision was founded on a unique legal premise with potential repercussions for software developers at large.

Klein asserted, "Mr. Storm has been cooperating with the prosecutors’ investigation since last year and disputes that he engaged in any criminal conduct. There is a lot more to this story that will come out at trial."

More from Business

  • UK's Jaguar Land Rover to halt US shipments over tariffs

    Jaguar Land Rover will pause shipments of its Britain-made cars to the United States for a month, it said on Saturday, as it considers how to mitigate the cost of President Donald Trump's 25% tariff.

  • US starts collecting Trump's new 10% tariff

    U.S. customs agents began collecting President Donald Trump's unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week.

  • Nasdaq set to confirm bear market as Trump tariffs trigger recession fears

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was set to confirm it was in a bear market on Friday, down more than 20 per cent from a recent record high, as investors fled riskier assets on fears that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could spark a trade war and tip the global economy into recession.

  • Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum exceed 500M boe in Khor Mor field

    UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, alongside their partners in the Pearl Petroleum consortium, have said the cumulative production from their Khor Mor project, the largest non-associated gas field in Iraq, has exceeded 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

  • China to impose tariffs of 34% on all US goods

    China has announced a slew of additional tariffs and restrictions against US goods as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Finance Ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34 per cent on all US goods from April 10.