The federal judge overseeing the criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm is leaning towards barring any mention of the 2022 US sanctions against the crypto mixing platform in court.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Katherine Failla of the Southern District of New York said she was “inclined” to exclude references to the Treasury’s sanctions on Tornado Cash, as they were later repealed. In 2022, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had sanctioned addresses linked to Tornado Cash, but reversed this decision in March 2025 after a federal judge ordered their repeal in a related civil case.
“The sanctions were withdrawn,”
Judge Failla reportedly said, suggesting that including them could unfairly imply guilt. However, she noted she is unlikely to exclude mentions of North Korea or the Lazarus Group hackers, whom prosecutors allege used Tornado Cash to launder illicit funds.
OK – before Combs 2 pm, now at crypto case of US v Roman Storm, Inner City Press reports on crypto and will live skeet, below
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress.bsky.social) 8 July 2025 at 16:00
Storm was charged in August 2023 with money laundering, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and violating U.S. sanctions laws. His trial is set to begin on Monday, with Judge Failla expected to rule soon on the admissibility of witnesses.
The case has sparked significant debate within the crypto community, with industry figures arguing that Storm is being prosecuted merely for writing code. Supporters, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Paradigm founder Matt Huang, and the Ethereum Foundation, have contributed thousands of dollars towards his legal defence.
Storm’s upcoming trial follows other major crypto-related prosecutions this year, including the conviction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon also faces federal charges in the US after his extradition from Montenegro.
Notably, A coalition of 34 crypto firms and advocacy groups has called on Congress to push back against the Department of Justice’s broad interpretation of laws used to prosecute Tornado Cash developers.
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