Tornado Cash Developers Storm, Pertsev Raise Over $350K for Legal Defense With Support From Snowden

A legal fund for the defense of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev has received more than $350K and public support from Edward Snowden, the former NSA whistleblower.

Tornado Cash's Roman Storm and Roman Semenov face allegations of money laundering and sanctions violations in the U.S.

Storm, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, was arrested by the Department of Justice (DOJ)and placed under house arrest in Washington State, with a trial expected in 2024 after he was charged with money laundering and sanctions violations in August 2023. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Roman Semenov, another developer and co-founder, was also charged but has not been arrested.

The DOJ alleges that more than $1 billion in crypto was moved through the mixing service, which tries to mask the wallet addresses and provide anonymity for the sender and the receiver. Pertsev has been in jail since 2023 in The Netherlands.

“2024 is the year that will define the rest of my life,” said Storm on X. “Honestly, I’m scared. But also hopeful that this community cares with a passion. Please donate towards my legal defense.”

Snowden retweeted that message asking people to help while adding that “Privacy is not a crime.”

If you can help, please help. Privacy is not a crime. https://t.co/R4vauNLRB4

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 23, 2024