In a rapidly developing case, three cryptocurrency advocacy groups have filed amicus briefs in support of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who has been indicted for his role in the creation and operation of the prominent crypto mixer platform. Storm, who has since been apprehended by US authorities, had earlier filed for a motion to dismiss the charges against him, describing them as \u201cfatally flawed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The US citizen, who is one of the three Tornado Cash developers, faces three charges from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) alongside Russian counterpart Roman Semenov who is currently on the loose. Meanwhile, Alexey Pertsev, the last Tornado Cash co-founder, is also undergoing trial in the Netherlands for similar reasons, with a court ruling expected on May 14.\n<\/p>\n
In solidarity with Tornado Cash developers, the Blockchain Association, Coin Center, and DeFi Education Fund each submitted an individual amicus brief on April 5, supporting Roman\u2019s Storm motion to dismiss charges levied by the DOJ.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All three advocacy groups generally criticized the indictment by the US government, however, with a separate focus on different charges. For instance, the Blockchain Association argued<\/a> against the charge of conspiracy to operate as an unlicensed money-transmitting business.<\/p>\n The Washington-based pro-crypto group stated that in accordance with the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),\u00a0 Tornado Cash did not qualify as a money transmitter as the platform\u2019s operations do not involve independent control over the movement of users’ assets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the DeFi Education Fund slammed<\/a>\u00a0the DOJ\u2019s charge of Roman Storm conspiring to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA).\u00a0<\/p>\n The crypto advocacy group questioned the US government\u2019s novel interpretation of the IEEPA in this case,\u00a0 which would make developers criminally liable for the use of their products or software by sanctioned entities. The DeFi Education Fund believes that such an application of the IEEPA is illegal and could intimidate software developers across all spaces.\n<\/p>\n<\/span>Tornado Cash Developers Not Liable For Service Usage: Coin Center<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n