U.S. prosecutors requested a federal choose to set an October date for the retrial of Twister Money developer Roman Storm on two unresolved prison counts after a jury failed to achieve unanimous verdicts throughout the authentic listening to, in keeping with a letter filed Monday within the Southern District of New York.
In a letter to U.S. District Choose Katherine Polk Failla, U.S. lawyer Jay Clayton, a former chair of the Securities and Change Fee (SEC, requested for a date now to “to keep away from additional pointless delays,” though Storm, who’s presently free on bail, has a pending movement for a judgment of acquittal. Oral arguments on that movement are scheduled for April 9.
Storm is a co-founder of Twister Money, a crypto mixer designed to obscure the origin and vacation spot of blockchain transactions. In August, a jury convicted Storm on one depend tied to working an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise, and didn’t agree on verdicts for 2 different prices, leaving alleged violations of cash laundering sanctions legislation unresolved. He’s presently free on bail whereas awaiting additional proceedings.
Storm criticized the deliberate retrial in an X publish on Tuesday, saying the jury’s cut up choice mirrored uncertainty concerning the authorities’s case.
“A jury of 12 Individuals heard 4 weeks of proof and deadlocked: no verdict on cash laundering, and no verdict on sanctions violations,” Storm wrote. “The federal government’s response? Attempt once more to make writing code a criminal offense.”
Storm additionally referred to a U.S. Treasury report acknowledging that mixing providers like Twister Money can serve lawful functions on public blockchains. The report got here after years of opposition to crypto mixers.
Protection attorneys instructed prosecutors that setting a trial date earlier than the April movement is resolved could be untimely.
