TechFlow reports that former Tornado Cash developers are facing charges for alleged money laundering, sanctions violations, and unlicensed money transmitting, with one developer already convicted and imprisoned. Following the arrests of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm and developer Alexey Pertsev, the crypto community established JusticeDAO to raise funds for their legal defense.
Through the "Free Alexey & Roman" fundraising campaign on the decentralized platform Juicebox, JusticeDAO has raised 654 ETH (approximately $2.3 million). Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also made a significant contribution to the fund.
Despite community support, the Tornado Cash founders continue to face serious charges. The U.S. Department of the Treasury alleges that Tornado Cash was used to launder over $7 billion. Storm and Roman Semenov are charged with money laundering and sanctions violations. In May 2024, a Dutch court found developer Pertsev guilty of money laundering and sentenced him to five years and four months in prison.
