Two founders of Tornado Cash, the widely known Russian cryptocurrency mixer, have been charged with laundering more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds.
Charges in the indictment include conspiring to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The third co-founder, Alexey Pertsev, who is not mentioned in this action, faces trial in Amsterdam over his involvement with Tornado Cash.
Tornado Cash is used by some people as a legitimate way to protect their privacy in the still-nascent crypto market.
Using a crypto mixing service like Tornado Cash masks those details by anonymizing the funds and concealing the identity of the buyer.
Persons:
Roman, Semenov, Storm, James Smith, Alexey Pertsev, Roman Semenov, Damian Williams, Brian Klein, Waymaker, Klein, Lazarus
Organizations:
Tornado, Lazarus, Justice Department, CNBC, Tornado Cash, Storm, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Foreign Assets, Lazarus Group, U.S . Treasury, Treasury Department
Locations:
Russian, Korean, Washington, York, Amsterdam, U.S, Harmony