US DOJ Fights Back Against Tornado Cash Founder’s MTD Request

Prosecutors from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) have responded to a Motion to Dismiss (MTD) the charges of conspiracy and money laundering brought against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Semenov.

Tornado Cash Developer Argues Non-Involvement

By the end of March, Semenov who was arrested and charged with a number of offences connected to his involvement with Tornado Cash, filed a motion seeking the dismissal of charges levied against him. His legal team’s argument in the MTD hinges on the fact that the authorities have no basis to charge him. Semenov also clarified that he was involved in the design of the code but is not responsible for it being used.

The Tornado Cash co-founders claim to have already handed over the management of smart contracts of the platform long before the alleged criminal actions occurred, hence, the request for an MTD.

However, the DOJ’s response in its 111-page filing suggests that Semenov’s request cannot be considered. 

The regulator further analyzed why the Tornado Cash co-founder should answer for the alleged crimes levied against him. It is worth noting that the DOJ’s insistence that Semenov played an active role in maintaining Tornado Cash’s website for continuity, put him at a crucial spot. It is barely only a matter of on-chain usage.

DOJ Intensifies Case Against Semenov

Led by Damian Williams, the DOJ insisted that Semenov was responsible for keeping the cryptocurrency mixer online. More so, he and his executives were accused of developing systems that helped criminals maintain anonymity on the platform. The regulator noted that the changes made by Tornado Cash co-founders to the website to keep out sanctioned addresses from the platform was insufficient. 

Ordinarily, crypto mixers are designed to make transactions untraceable especially for anonymity, but the exploitation of Tornado Cash by bad actors to make it tough for stolen funds to be identified, attracted an enforcement action from the U.S. DOJ in 2022. Popular North Korean hacking bloc Lazarus Group, was identified as one of the core users of the crypto mixer.

With the new development, Semenov’s ability or inability to give the DOJ a convincing response, would determine if he spends his remaining days behind bars. He is faced with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.