Tornado Cash Co-Founder Seeks Charges Dismissal, Cites First Amendment

• Storm has offered many legal defenses in an effort to dispel the allegations.
• The act of coding is protected by virtue of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free expression.

One of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service, Roman Storm, has moved to have the allegations against him dropped. After his arrest and subsequent charges stemming from his role in launching the platform, Storm has offered many legal defenses in an effort to dispel the allegations.

Moreover, one of the main arguments put out is that the act of coding is shielded from legal action by virtue of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free expression. Also, Storm faced charges of engaging in an unregistered money transmitting company, conspiring to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, and money laundering.

Indictment Terminally Flawed

The maximum penalty for each of these counts is twenty years in jail. The legal team representing Storm, meantime, has argued that the indictment is terminally flawed and that Storm and his colleagues’ software work was an authorized utilization of their First Amendment rights.

Furthermore, the legal team for Storm has submitted a motion that challenges the accusations by bringing up several important facts. The defense argues that the indictment incorrectly characterizes Tornado Cash as a “money transmitting business” as the service’s customers maintained full control over their funds and did not incur any direct costs from Tornado Cash.

The application also casts doubt on the possibility of a conspiracy, as the claimed illicit activities did not take place until after the Tornado Cash co-founders had transferred control of the platform’s smart contracts.

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