Founders of US Crypto Firm Charged with Assisting North Korean Hacking Group in Laundering Money
Two co-founders of the cryptocurrency firm Tornado Cash, Roman Semenov and Roman Storm, were charged by the United States for their link with hacking groups and working for the North Korean government.
The US authorities accused Tornado Cash founders were found working with the banned military departments and assisting North Korean hacking groups to launder money. According to the charges against them, Roman Semenov and Roman Storm were involved in a cryptocurrency “mixer” scam. The Southern District Court of New York has relaised an official statement that over $1 billion has been laundered, including hundreds of millions sent to a North Korean cybercrime organisation. The US Treasury Department banned Tornado Cash for its illegal association North Korean hacking group a year ago. The US Treasury Department has now released an alleged statement that their founders have also been linked to banned organisations and committed money laundering and sanctions violations. US Attorney, Damian Williams, said in a statement, “whilst publicly claiming to offer a technically sophisticated privacy service, Storm and Semenov, in fact, knew that they were helping hackers and fraudsters conceal the fruits of their crimes.”
The Semenov’s representative law firm hasn’t responded to the allegations, nor has the FBI released any statement. Meanwhile, the other co-founder, Storm, was arrested by the police in conjunction with the allegation, to which his lawyer stated, “we are incredibly disappointed that the prosecutors chose to charge Mr Storm because he helped develop software, and they did so based on a novel legal theory with dangerous implications for all software developers. Mr. Storm has been cooperating with the prosecutors’ investigation since last year and disputes that he engaged in criminal conduct.“
The US Treasury Department also sanctions Semonov, but according to the South District New York attorney, he is not detained by law enforcement custody.
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