The Tornado Cash legal drama just took a sharp left turn, and it’s got all the makings of a courtroom thriller.
Well, now there’s fresh dirt suggesting the prosecutors might’ve played dirty themselves, hiding evidence that could clear the defendants.
The people prosecuting the case might’ve been less than honest.
Are they the baddies?
Roman Storm, one of Tornado Cash’s developers , through his legal team, is asking the court to rethink tossing the case out.
Why? Because they say the prosecution purposely kept some pretty important documents under wraps, documents from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, from 2023.
These papers supposedly show that non-custodial crypto mixers like Tornado Cash don’t even qualify as money transmitting businesses under the law. That’s a big deal because the whole case hinges on that definition.
Now, according to a letter sent May 16 to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, the prosecutors knew about FinCEN’s guidelines on these mixers but went ahead with charges anyway.
The prosecution, of course, denies any sneaky business, claiming they handed over the FinCEN communications on time during discovery. But Storm’s team isn’t buying it.
High level corruption?
And honestly, it’s not just Tornado Cash swimming in troubled waters, because the Samourai Wallet developers are in the same boat.
Their lawyers pointed out in a May 5 letter that the government played fast and loose, or worse, straight-up misled the court about FinCEN’s guidance when fighting motions to dismiss and to get discovery.
To add fuel to the fire, back on April 28, federal judge Robert Pitman threw a wrench in the government’s plans by blocking the Office of Foreign Assets Control from reimposing sanctions on Tornado Cash.
That ruling set a precedent, saying non-custodial mixers don’t fall under the same harsh rules.
You’d think that would slow the prosecution down, right? Nope. They’re still pushing forward against Storm, just tweaking the charges a bit.
Serve and protect?
Obviously, this case likely isn’t just about crypto mixers anymore, but it’s about whether the system plays fair or if it’s bending the rules to nail these developers.
If prosecutors did hide evidence, that’s a betrayal of justice, big time. And for anyone watching, it’s a reminder that in the alleged wild west of crypto law, the good guys can be the actual bad guys sometimes, or at least, there are chances.
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