Prosecutors deny relevance of the Samourai Wallet case against Roman Storm of Tornado Cash

According to prosecutors, the opinion issued by FINCEN regarding Samourai Wallet It is not binding in the case of Tornado Cash, Therefore, information has been hidden that allows the defense of Storm duly assuming the legal process.

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• Prosecutors claim that opinions of FINCEN They are not applicable evidence in the case Tornado cash.
• Roman Storm defense denounces possible constitutional violation by concealment of evidence.
• The trial will begin on July 14 in New York, with increasing tension on procedural rights.

Federal prosecutors of New York Southern District They try to block the access of the Roman Storm defense, developer of Tornado cashto evidence that could favor your case.

In a letter sent to the court last Wednesday, reviewed by COINDESK, Prosecutors responded to accusations of defense about an alleged breach of constitutional obligations known as Brady, which require revealing any evidence that can benefit the accused before the trial. In this case, they refer to the short dispute against Samourai Wallet, purse Bitcoin With privacy functions.

Connection with the case Samourai Wallet

The current controversy intensified after in a parallel case – that of the founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill – came to light that federal prosecutors had held a conversation with officials of the Financial Crime Control Network (FINCEN) In 2023. According to judicial documents, these officials would have expressed that Wallet did not qualify as a “Money transmission business” And, therefore, it did not require license to operate under its criteria.

Rodriguez and Hill’s lawyers accused the government of suppressing this crucial information, thus violating their right to due process. Although the judge of the case rejected a hearing on this point, allowed them to include their arguments in a motion prior to trial.

Taking this into account, Roman Storm’s lawyers affirm that the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office has omitted to share that conversation could also constitute a violation of the norm Brady In your case. They argue that if the government had prior knowledge that FINCEN He did not consider the crypto transaction mixers as businesses subject to registration, that information had to be shared.

The defense insists that so much Tornado cash as Samourai Wallet They operate cryptocurrency mixing services, and that any criteria applied to one could be relevant to the other.

Prosecutor’s response

In his Wednesday letter, prosecutors rejected this statement. Argued that conversation with FINCEN It does not constitute evidence, but an informal and not legally binding opinion. In addition, they alleged that this discussion never included Tornado cash specifically.

“Tornado Cash simply was not part of the conversation”prosecutors pointed out. They added that, unlike Samourai Walletthere were no comparable interactions between the government and FINCEN Regarding this service.

They also argued that they had not requested or received formal opinions from any government agency on whether Tornado cash It had to register as a financial entity. Even if such an opinion existed, they added, it would be legally inadmissible.

The trial against Roman Storm is scheduled to begin on July 14 in New York. Meanwhile, the defense is expected to continue pressing to access any test that may be exculpatory.

This case will be key to defining legal limits in the relationship between the development of cryptographic technologies and existing financial regulations. The decision made by the court could sit an important precedent for the judicial treatment of decentralized software and the legal responsibilities of its creators.

Article written by a content editor. Edited by Angel Di Matteo / Diariobitcoin

Original image of Diariobitcoin, created with artificial intelligence, for free use, licensed under public domain.

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