“Claiming to supply the Twister Money service as a ‘privateness service,’ the defendants in actual fact knew that it was a haven for criminals to interact in large-scale cash laundering and sanctions evasion,” the indictment alleged.
At trial, prosecutors introduced proof that they claimed proved that Twister Money was designed for cash laundering from the outset. Their witnesses included a rip-off sufferer whose stolen funds have been mentioned to have handed by means of Twister Money—although this account was contested on-line by outstanding members of the crypto trade—and a convicted fraudster who used the service to launder ill-gotten positive aspects. “Washy, washy,” the fraudster supposedly wrote to his girlfriend, in a message about Twister Money.
When the federal government closed its case final week, prosecutors dismissed the subject of privateness as a handy distraction. “The actual cash wasn’t in so-called ‘privateness’ for regular individuals,” Benjamin Gianforti, one of many prosecutors, is quoted as saying. “It was in hiding soiled cash for criminals.”
Storm and the opposite builders even took to sporting a Twister Money-branded T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a washer, prosecutors famous.
Storm’s attorneys, in the meantime, sought to argue that though their consumer had developed the know-how exploited by dangerous actors, he had not engaged in any criminality himself nor dealt with any soiled cash. “You’ll by no means hear any proof that Roman or the [other] cofounders participated in any hacks,” mentioned Keri Curtis Axel, companion at regulation agency Waymaker and counsel to Storm, in her opening remarks.
Storm was powerless to stop the abuses of Twister Money, the protection reportedly argued, as a result of he and the opposite builders had relinquished the flexibility to change or disable the underlying code, within the spirit of decentralization.
The protection known as to the stand quite a lot of witnesses who spoke to the potential legit makes use of for Twister Money. However Storm didn’t testify, which might have opened him as much as cross-examination by the prosecution.
In the end, regardless of discovering Storm responsible of the lesser cash transmitting violation, the jury proved receptive to the protection’s line of reasoning.
“The jury cut up the proverbial child,” says Mark Bini, a companion at regulation agency Reed Smith’s crypto observe and a former federal prosecutor. “Whereas they possible credited the protection’s compelling arguments that there are legit privateness makes use of for mixers and that Storm was circuitously concerned in any of the crimes through which Twister Money was used, they felt uncomfortable with the steps that Twister Money took or didn’t take to stop illicit makes use of.”
Storm now awaits sentencing, which normally takes place a few months after a conviction. In the meantime, the DOJ should resolve whether or not to retry the cash laundering depend on which the jury couldn’t agree.
“The federal government may select to retry Storm on the hung depend, however primarily based on the notes that have been getting back from the jury, I anticipate that they may go to sentencing primarily based upon the conviction they secured,” says Bini. “Whereas they’re more likely to argue for a stiff sentence, the jury’s verdict seems to take a number of the sting out of the federal government’s case.”
Replace 8/06/25 at 3:32pm EST: This text has been up to date with an announcement from Matthew Inexperienced, an knowledgeable witness for the protection.
