Roman Storm, one of the founders of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer, has filed a motion seeking the dismissal of three charges against him. These charges allege that he operated an illegal money laundering business and violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In a filing on March 29, his legal team argued that there is insufficient evidence to suggest Storm conspired to launder money.

The defense asserted that Tornado Cash was developed, became immutable, and was publicly accessible before being utilized by hacking groups sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. Consequently, they contended that when the alleged misconduct occurred, Storm had limited ability to prevent a sanctioned entity from using the platform.

The accusations primarily revolve around claims that Tornado Cash assisted North Korea's Lazarus Group in bypassing U.S. sanctions, allegedly facilitating funding for the nation's nuclear program. Additionally, the defense argued that Tornado Cash does not meet the criteria of a money transmitting business since it did not charge a fee for fund transfers, and users retained complete control over their cryptocurrency assets.

Storm's defense team maintained that his intention was to develop software solutions to safeguard financial privacy for law-abiding cryptocurrency users. They urged for the charges to be dismissed, labeling them as fundamentally flawed. Storm, who pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $2 million bond following his arrest in September 2023, is restricted to specific regions within New York, New Jersey, Washington, and California.

These legal proceedings coincide with a broader crackdown by the U.S. government on crypto-mixing services. Despite the ongoing legal battles, a significant portion of the cryptocurrency community still appreciates the increased privacy that crypto mixers offer for legitimate business transactions. Previously, the Arbitrum DAO had considered allocating around $1.3 million worth of ARB tokens to assist Storm with his legal fees, but the proposal was withdrawn, and the rationale behind it remains undisclosed.