Roman Storm, a key developer behind cryptocurrency mixer Twister Money, pleaded not responsible to a number of felony fees, Interior Metropolis Press mentioned on Sept. 6.
That report signifies that Storm pleaded not responsible to fees contained inside an earlier indictment. These fees, which had been first introduced on Aug. 23, embrace conspiracy to commit cash laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to function an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise.
Following Storm’s plea, prosecutors asserted that Storm, with Twister Money, aided the North Korean state hacking group Lazarus Group. As a coin mixer, Twister Money had legit privateness functions however might have been used to launder cash as nicely.
Through the proceedings, Prosecutors said that they plan to acquire discovery supplies from GitHub and mentioned that they’ve “a number of terabytes” of Russian-language knowledge from Dutch authorities. Prosecutors additionally mentioned the dealing with of categorized supplies with the choose. Prosecutors acknowledged that one other accused particular person — identified to be Roman Semenov primarily based on previous experiences — stays a fugitive exterior of the U.S.
Lastly, prosecutors agreed to launch Storm on a $2 million bond secured by his Washington residence by Sept. 15. Prosecutors mentioned that they’ve seized Storm’s Russian passport and that his motion is restricted to elements of the USA.
Proceedings recommend {that a} trial will happen on Nov. 30.
Connections to different crypto instances
Interior Metropolis Press famous connections to different high-profile cryptocurrency instances. It noticed that Assistant U.S. Lawyer Thane Rehn, who’s a prosecutor within the case at hand, can also be a prosecutor within the case towards former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Interior Metropolis Press additional famous that Storm’s lawyer is Brian Klein. Klein beforehand represented Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum developer who was charged and located responsible of sanctions violations involving North Korea.
All the above instances are or had been dealt with by the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York — a division of the Division of Justice (DOJ) that’s at present extremely concerned in prosecuting crypto-related crimes.
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