Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm has pleaded "not guilty" to charges related to money laundering exceeding $1 billion, including allegations connected to a cybercrime group associated with the North Korean government and violations of United States sanctions. Storm, a naturalized US citizen, was granted release on a $2 billion bond after his arrest in August.

Storm and alleged co-conspirator Roman Semenov face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) continues to point to Tornado Cash's role in facilitating the laundering of funds for criminal actors since 2019, including the obfuscation of hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets stolen by North Korea's Lazarus Group.

Storm is subject to significant travel restrictions and will continue to be placed under house arrest at his residence in Washington. Semenov remains at large and was recently added to the OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals list of sanctioned companies and individuals. The third co-founder of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, was arrested by Dutch authorities on similar charges and is currently under electronic monitoring while awaiting trial from his residence.