The US Department of Justice will drop part of a count of his case against Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm because of a recent political memo, the agency said on Thursday.
DOJ will not go to trial on a tax claiming that Storm did not comply with the rules for business registration of money, but still plan to go to trial in July over accusations that he deliberately transferred funds linked to crimes, conspired to commit money laundering and conspired to violate sanctions, said DOJ in a letter filed with his case.
“The government is writing to update the court regarding this case scheduled for trial on July 14, 2025,” the letter said. “After the review of this case, this office and the Office of the Deputy General Attorney have decided that this prosecution is in accordance with the letter and spirit of April 7, 2025 -MORANDUM from the Deputy Attorney.”
On April 7 -Memo, author of Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche, prosecutors instructed not to pursue cases where rules may be unclear or not met certain criteria, and specifically, DOJ said to conclude “Regulation by prosecution.” Prosecutors in another case against the developers of Crypto Mixer Samorai -Tevebog have already asked a judge who oversees this case to pause it while considering the memo.
In a statement, Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP Coindesk told that his company representing a storm believes “this case should never have been brought.”
“Its dismissal would be consistent with the Trump administration’s policies and the principles described by the Ministry of Justice in its recent memo for cryptocurrency guidance,” he said. “Roman prosecution is a threat to the entire crypto industry, and the interests of justice will best serve by its rapid dismissal. We do not cease fighting for Roman and that result.”
Klein spoke at Coindesk’s Consensus 2025 conference in Toronto on Wednesday, where he also shared his view that the case should not have been brought.
“One of the defense we have erected that are recognized in the United States is the coding – literally writing code – you get free utterance protection for coding,” he said. “It’s just as if you were writing a book or you did another type of expressive activity.”
