{"id":432671,"date":"2023-08-24T12:05:49","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T12:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/?p=432671"},"modified":"2023-08-24T12:07:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T12:07:04","slug":"us-charges-tornado-cash-developers-with-laundering-1-billion-of-crypto-assets-sanctions-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/news\/us-charges-tornado-cash-developers-with-laundering-1-billion-of-crypto-assets-sanctions-violations","title":{"rendered":"US Charges Tornado Cash Developers With Laundering $1 Billion Of Crypto Assets, Sanctions Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Tornado Cash developers were charged with money laundering and sanctions violations.<\/p>\n

The US Department of Justice says the developers, Roman Storm, and Roman Semenov, aided in laundering more than $1 billion worth of crypto assets for the North Korean hacker entity known as Lazarus Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tornado Cash is a crypto mixer that hides the origin of funds laundered through it. The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctioned the tool last year.<\/p>\n

The sanctions were imposed amid allegations that the Lazarus hacker group laundered stolen crypto assets from multiple crypto hacks using this tool.<\/p>\n

The DoJ has already arrested<\/a> Storm, while OFAC has sanctioned Semenov.<\/p>\n

The sanctions also apply to eight Ethereum wallet addresses owned by Semenov. According<\/a> to US Attorney Damien Williams, the two knowingly enabled money laundering.<\/p>\n

The US Attorney said,<\/p>\n

Today’s indictment is a reminder that money laundering through cryptocurrency transactions violates the law, and those who engage in such laundering will face prosecution.<\/p>\n

Tornado Cash Developer Charged for Developing Software, Attorney Says<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Storm’s attorney, Brian Klein, has criticized the charges, saying that his client was being charged for developing software.<\/p>\n

The attorney noted that the authorities had significant implications for all software developers. He also added that Storm has worked with the prosecutors since last year.<\/p>\n

The DoJ said that Storm and Semenov created Tornado Cash with many privacy features despite the possibility that the software could be used illegally.<\/p>\n

The indictment also said that the two had control over Tornado Cash and could have chosen to adopt transaction monitoring and other anti-money laundering features.<\/p>\n

Another Tornado Cash developer, Alex Pertsev, was arrested in 2020 in the Netherlands and is awaiting trial over money laundering charges.<\/p>\n

The DoJ alleged that the three co-founders made false, misleading statements to downplay their control of Tornado Cash.<\/p>\n

North Korean Hackers Target the Crypto Industry<\/h2>\n

North Korean state-sponsored hackers have launched several hacking campaigns<\/a> against the cryptocurrency industry.<\/p>\n

In these hacking campaigns, the hackers have stolen billions of dollars worth of crypto assets, which reports<\/a> say were used to fund the country’s missile program.<\/p>\n

A recent TRM Labs report said<\/a> North Korean hackers had stolen more than $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies over the last five years.<\/p>\n

These crypto assets were stolen across 30 cyberattacks, showing that the hackers have been active in this sector.<\/p>\n

The US Federal Bureau of Investigations recently flagged six Bitcoin wallet addresses<\/a> owned by the North Korean hackers.<\/p>\n

The six flagged wallets currently hold 1,580 BTC worth around $40 million.<\/p>\n

According to the FBI, the activity on these addresses showed that the hackers planned to sell the assets.<\/p>\n

While code vulnerabilities in platforms and protocols made it easy for hackers to target the industry, laundering the stolen funds has always been problematic for criminals.<\/p>\n

Blockchain runs under a public ledger that makes it possible to track the movement of funds.<\/p>\n

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