In line with protection from Inside Metropolis Press and Peter Van Valkenburgh, the jury failed to succeed in a unanimous resolution on the cash laundering cost and on the conspiracy to violate US financial sanctions cost.
US prosecutors then tried to have Storm remanded to jail. They argued that his connections to Russia, his feedback on dishonest the immigration system, and the tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} price of funds he owns all make him a flight threat.
Choose: Let me see it… Deputy: Mr. Foreperson, Rely 1, how do you discover?Foreperson: Not unanimous.Deputy 2: Rely 2?Foreperson: Responsible.Deputy: Rely 3, IEEPA?Foreperson: Not responsible.
— Inside Metropolis Press (@innercitypress) August 6, 2025
Storm’s protection, nonetheless, argued that these immigration feedback concerned Russians freaking out over the warfare in Ukraine and that his entry to crypto is closely restricted. Additionally they famous that he has numerous relations within the US and that his home in Washington is tied up in a bond.
Certainly, Choose Katherine Polk Failla sided with Storm’s protection. She stated, “There is a lot of fighting left in this case before sentencing, and I think Mr. Storm will stay for it.”
For working an unlicensed cash transmitting enterprise, Storm faces as much as 5 years in jail. The federal government might request a retrial of the undecided fees.
Jury “deadlocked” over Twister Money cash laundering cost
Inside Metropolis Press reported earlier right this moment that the jury suggested Failla that they had been “deadlocked” and unable to succeed in a unanimous resolution on all three fees.
Failla then urged jurors to carry the trial to an finish, by means of a partial verdict (returning a choice on simply a number of the counts), if mandatory. The jury retired for about one hour earlier than returning with the blended outcomes for Storm.
Through the trial, the credibility of the prosecution’s blockchain forensics knowledgeable was known as into query, whereas the entire case proved controversial amongst privateness advocates, particularly since sanctions in opposition to addresses associated to Twister Money itself had been lifted earlier this yr.
The prosecution was accused of “weaponizing” Telegram messages between CoinDesk journalists and the Twister crew, referring to laundering funds from 2022’s $600 million Ronin Bridge hack, carried out by sanctioned North Korean hackers.
Through the trial, additionally they underlined that the Twister Money crew knew of their platform’s use as a cash laundering instrument, making gentle of the very fact on T-shirts that includes a washer alongside the phrase “I keep my Ether clean with tornado.cash.”
Replace 2025-08-06 17:53 UTC: A earlier model of this text incorrectly claimed that the jury discovered Roman Storm not responsible on the cost associated to conspiracy to commit sanctions evasion; the jury didn’t attain a unanimous verdict on this cost.
