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US legal officials in the criminal proceeding against Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm presented evidence from an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent as they prepare to conclude their case on Thursday.
As reported by Inner City Press on Wednesday, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Stephan George provided testimony indicating that he had analyzed transaction records linked to cryptocurrency platforms Crypto.com and Binance.
George allegedly claimed that Storm “[had] control” over assets after an account affiliated with Binance transferred crypto to Tornado Cash smart contract addresses, based on exchanges between the co-founders: Storm, Alexey Pertsey, and Roman Semenov.
The testimony came after a challenge from Storm’s legal representatives, who sought to dismiss it based on an evaluation of Hanfeng Lin’s background — a victim of a romance scam who previously testified in the trial regarding misappropriated crypto funds sent via Tornado Cash. Storm’s legal team indicated they might request a mistrial after findings implied that none of the assets reached the crypto mixing service.
“While his accounting background may have provided him with the qualifications to perform the analysis he was retained for, it does not qualify him to testify concerning the tracing of cryptocurrency illicit proceeds which the government is now positing, encompassing not just tracing, but also assigning control over various wallet addresses to the purported hacker, where the identification of accounts is in question,” stated Storm’s legal team in a filing on Tuesday.
The question of whether Storm possessed the capacity to control Tornado Cash by obstructing or discouraging illicit funds from being laundered, as the prosecution asserts, is pivotal to the arguments in his criminal proceedings.
Another government witness was anticipated to testify regarding whether Storm could have altered the platform to discourage criminal conduct, but was reportedly primarily focused on discussing the mixer’s reaction to sanctions.
Related: Essential information about Roman Storm’s Tornado Cash trial
Defense attorneys get ready to present their case
Storm faces allegations of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to breach US sanctions related to his involvement with Tornado Cash. US legal officials indicated they expect to conclude their arguments on Thursday “before lunch,” after which Storm’s legal team will commence presenting their defense.
According to Inner City Press, Storm’s attorneys intend to call “two or three doctors” to provide testimony, and potentially an expert witness from Chainalysis.
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