According to Cointelegraph, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm requested the U.S. federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges, as the appeals court ruled that the sanctions against the platform's smart contracts were illegal.
In a motion in Manhattan federal court, Storm stated that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' opinion indicates that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) overstepped its authority in sanctioning the Tornado Cash smart contracts.
He pointed out that this opinion affected the charges against him for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as the court found that smart contracts are not the 'property' of foreign nationals or entities.
Storm was also charged with operating an unlicensed money transfer business and conspiracy to commit money laundering, arguing that Tornado Cash is not a financial institution and the protocol was immutable as of May 2020.
In August 2023, the U.S. charged Storm and co-founder Roman Semenov with laundering over $1 billion through Tornado Cash. Semenov remains at large, while third co-founder Alexey Pertsev was arrested in the Netherlands.