Legal cases

Convicted on one of the three counts on 6 August 2025 and not sentenced. His motion for acquittal, argued on 9 April 2026, was still undecided in the latest filings and reports found (9 October 2026), and the retrial on the other two counts is due to begin on 26 April 2027.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Katherine Polk Failla

Reference

23 Cr. 430 (KPF)

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Roman Storm, a co-founder of Tornado Cash (defendant); the United States, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

Charges or claims

Conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (sanctions)

Outcome

None yet: a guilty verdict on the unlicensed money transmitting conspiracy count, and no verdict on the money laundering and sanctions conspiracy counts.

Next known date

20 Apr 2027: final pretrial conference; the retrial is due to begin on 26 April 2027 On the calendar

Why it matters

The case asks whether developing and running a non-custodial mixer, which never takes control of users' funds, can amount to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business or a money laundering conspiracy.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026. On the calendar: Final pretrial conference before Roman Storm's retrial (S.D.N.Y.); Retrial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm due to begin (S.D.N.Y.).

Withdrawn on 5 October 2026 without a final rule, so existing obligations did not change.

Court or authority

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Department of the Treasury

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

FinCEN; covered US financial institutions that would have had to keep records and report

Charges or claims

A proposed finding under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act that international convertible virtual currency mixing is a class of transactions of primary money laundering concern, with recordkeeping and reporting requirements

Outcome

Withdrawn; no rule was made.

Next known date

None.

Why it matters

It would have required US financial institutions to report transactions involving mixing outside the US, in what FinCEN called its first use of section 311 against a class of transactions rather than a single institution or jurisdiction.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Sentenced to 12 years and six months in November 2024; the D.C. Circuit upheld the convictions and the sentence on 25 September 2026.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; on appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Reference

No. 24-3161 (D.C. Cir.)

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Roman Sterlingov, operator of the Bitcoin Fog mixer (defendant)

Charges or claims

Money laundering conspiracy, money laundering in a sting operation, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and breaching the D.C. Money Transmitters Act

Outcome

Sentenced to 150 months in prison, with a forfeiture money judgment of $395,563,025.39; upheld on appeal.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

Bitcoin Fog was a custodial bitcoin mixer, and prosecutors in the Tornado Cash case cited the appeal ruling on venue on 5 October 2026.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Dismissed without prejudice on 25 March 2026 because he had not shown a substantial threat of prosecution; he could sue again, and no appeal was found.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Chief Judge Reed O'Connor

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Michael Lewellen, developer of Pharos, a non-custodial tool for crypto donations to charitable crowdfunding campaigns (plaintiff); the Attorney General and the Justice Department (defendants)

Charges or claims

A declaration that developing and publishing non-custodial software does not make him an unlicensed money transmitter that could be prosecuted

Outcome

Dismissed without prejudice, with no ruling on whether non-custodial software is a money transmitting business.

Next known date

None known; the dismissal leaves him free to bring the claim again.

Why it matters

A developer asked a court to rule in advance that the money transmitting statute used against the Tornado Cash and Samourai developers does not reach non-custodial software, and the case ended without a ruling on that question.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Sentenced to three years in November 2024; a final order of forfeiture of more than $400 million in assets followed on 21 January 2026.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Beryl A. Howell; FinCEN for the civil penalty

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Larry Dean Harmon, founder and operator of the Helix and Coin Ninja mixers (defendant)

Charges or claims

Money laundering conspiracy, to which he pleaded guilty; FinCEN also assessed a civil penalty for Bank Secrecy Act violations

Outcome

Three years in prison, a $60 million FinCEN penalty and the forfeiture of more than $400 million in assets.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

FinCEN's penalty was the first against a bitcoin mixer, treating its operator as a money transmitter that had to follow anti-money laundering law.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

The Zcash Foundation said on 14 January 2026 that the SEC had concluded its review and did not intend to recommend enforcement action. The SEC does not comment on investigations.

Court or authority

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Reference

In the Matter of Certain Crypto Asset Offerings (SF-04569)

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

The Zcash Foundation, which received a subpoena

Charges or claims

No charges: a subpoena in an investigation of certain crypto asset offerings

Outcome

Closed without enforcement action, according to the Foundation.

Next known date

None.

Why it matters

The SEC subpoenaed a privacy coin's non-profit foundation and, according to the Foundation, ended the inquiry without enforcement action.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Rodriguez was sentenced to five years and Hill to four years in November 2025. No pardon or commutation for either was found up to 23 October 2026.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Denise L. Cote

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Keonne Rodriguez, chief executive, and William Lonergan Hill, chief technology officer, of Samourai Wallet (defendants)

Charges or claims

Conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business; both pleaded guilty to the money transmitting conspiracy

Outcome

Sentenced: five years for Rodriguez and four years for Hill.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

The case applied the US money transmitting offence to the makers of a Bitcoin wallet app and its coinjoin mixing service, Whirlpool.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Shut down on 26 November 2025; no charges against the operators were found up to 23 October 2026.

Court or authority

Frankfurt prosecutors' cybercrime unit (ZIT) and Zurich cantonal prosecutors, with the BKA and Europol

Jurisdiction

Germany, Switzerland

Parties

The operators of cryptomixer.io, not named

Charges or claims

A criminal investigation into money laundering through the mixer

Outcome

Service shut down; no prosecution found.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

The BKA described cryptomixer.io, which had run since 2016, as the oldest online money laundering service when a joint German and Swiss operation closed it.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Convicted and sentenced to 64 months in prison on 14 May 2024. His appeal is pending; he was released from prison under electronic monitoring in February 2025 to work on it.

Court or authority

Rechtbank Oost-Brabant (East Brabant District Court); on appeal, the Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch (Court of Appeal)

Reference

ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2024:2069

Jurisdiction

Netherlands

Parties

Alexey Pertsev, a developer of Tornado Cash (defendant); the Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecution Service)

Charges or claims

Money laundering through Tornado Cash between 2019 and 2022

Outcome

Convicted at first instance, 64 months in prison; not final while the appeal is pending.

Next known date

No date for the main appeal hearing was found.

Why it matters

The district court held a developer criminally liable for laundering through a non-custodial mixer, finding that Tornado Cash combined maximum anonymity with a serious lack of features enabling identification, control or detection.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Ended as moot after the delisting: on 3 July 2025 the Eleventh Circuit vacated the district court's 2023 ruling for the Treasury and told it to dismiss the case.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida; on appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Reference

No. 23-13698 (11th Cir.)

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Coin Center and individual plaintiffs (plaintiffs); the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of OFAC (defendants)

Charges or claims

That the Tornado Cash designation exceeded OFAC's statutory authority

Outcome

Dismissed as moot; the 2023 ruling upholding the sanctions was vacated.

Next known date

None.

Why it matters

The vacated 2023 ruling had upheld the sanctions on Tornado Cash, the opposite of the Fifth Circuit's conclusion in Van Loon a year later.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Servers seized and the service shut down in April 2025; no charges against the operators were found up to 23 October 2026.

Court or authority

Frankfurt prosecutors' cybercrime unit (ZIT) and the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), working with the Dutch FIOD

Jurisdiction

Germany

Parties

The operators of eXch, not named

Charges or claims

A criminal investigation into money laundering through the service

Outcome

Service shut down; no prosecution found.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

German authorities treated a swapping service that let users trade without identifying themselves as a laundering channel, suspecting it had handled part of the proceeds of the February 2025 Bybit theft.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Judgment for the plaintiffs on 28 April 2025, after the Fifth Circuit's ruling and the delisting; no appeal from it was found.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Judge Robert Pitman; on appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Reference

No. 23-50669 (5th Cir.)

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Joseph Van Loon and five other Tornado Cash users, backed by Coinbase (plaintiffs); the Department of the Treasury and OFAC (defendants)

Charges or claims

That OFAC exceeded its authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Administrative Procedure Act by designating Tornado Cash and its smart contracts

Outcome

Decided for the plaintiffs: the designation was held unlawful and OFAC was enjoined from enforcing it.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

The Fifth Circuit held that immutable smart contracts are not property that the Treasury can block under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Tornado Cash was removed from the sanctions list on 21 March 2025. Roman Semenov remains designated.

Court or authority

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Department of the Treasury

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Tornado Cash (designated 2022 to 2025); Roman Semenov (designated since 2023)

Charges or claims

Sanctions designation for laundering virtual currency, including proceeds of thefts by North Korea's Lazarus Group; redesignated in November 2022 under additional North Korea authorities

Outcome

Sanctions lifted on 21 March 2025; in Van Loon, a federal court later barred OFAC from enforcing them.

Next known date

None.

Why it matters

Until March 2025 the designation barred US persons from dealing with the Tornado Cash smart contracts listed in it.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026. On the calendar: US Treasury removes Tornado Cash from the sanctions list.

Charged and at large since the indictment was unsealed on 23 August 2023. He is on the FBI's wanted list and remains on the US sanctions list, from which Tornado Cash itself was removed in March 2025.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the same indictment as Roman Storm)

Reference

23 Cr. 430 (KPF)

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Roman Semenov, a co-founder of Tornado Cash and a Russian national (defendant)

Charges or claims

Conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (sanctions)

Outcome

None. The charges are allegations, and he has not appeared in a US court.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

A co-founder of Tornado Cash remains charged and under US sanctions after the protocol itself was removed from the sanctions list.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Charged in January 2025; Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested on 1 December 2024 and Tarasov is at large. No trial, plea or sentence was found up to 23 October 2026.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia; in the Netherlands, the FIOD and the Public Prosecution Service (Sinbad.io takedown); OFAC (sanctions)

Jurisdiction

United States, Netherlands

Parties

Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov, Russian nationals (defendants)

Charges or claims

Conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business

Outcome

None. The charges are allegations.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

Two custodial mixers were sanctioned and taken offline before their alleged operators were charged, with OFAC's Blender.io action being its first sanction on a mixer.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

The US charges against Pavlov, filed in April 2022, are pending with no US court appearance found; in Russia, a Moscow court sentenced Moiseyev to life in December 2024.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; in Germany, the BKA (takedown); in Russia, a Moscow court (trial of the founder and 15 others)

Jurisdiction

United States, Germany, Russia

Parties

Dmitry Olegovich Pavlov, a Russian resident charged with running the servers that kept Hydra online (defendant in the US); Stanislav Moiseyev and 15 others (defendants in Russia)

Charges or claims

In the US, conspiracy to distribute narcotics and conspiracy to commit money laundering

Outcome

In the US, none: the charges are allegations. In Russia, life imprisonment for Moiseyev.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

The Justice Department listed money laundering and mixing services among what Hydra sold, so the case concerns mixing offered inside a darknet market rather than a standalone tool.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Sentenced on 18 July 2024 to the roughly 18 months he had already spent in custody.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Judge Eric Vitaliano

Jurisdiction

United States

Parties

Anatoly Legkodymov, founder and majority owner of the Bitzlato exchange (defendant)

Charges or claims

Operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that handled illicit funds

Outcome

Time served, about 18 months; under the plea agreement he agreed to dissolve Bitzlato.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

Bitzlato was an exchange, not a mixer, but its founder was sentenced under the same unlicensed money transmitting statute behind the count on which Roman Storm was convicted and the count to which the Samourai founders pleaded guilty.

Confidence: Reported. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Charged in March 2023 and not in custody, according to the Justice Department at the time; no arrest or court appearance was found up to 23 October 2026.

Court or authority

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; in Germany, the Frankfurt prosecutors' cybercrime unit (ZIT) and the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA)

Jurisdiction

United States, Germany

Parties

Minh Quoc Nguyen, a Vietnamese national charged as ChipMixer's operator (defendant)

Charges or claims

Money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and identity theft

Outcome

None. The charges are allegations.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

A custodial bitcoin mixer was taken down by German and US authorities together, and its alleged operator was charged as an unlicensed money transmitter.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Servers seized in May 2019; no charges against the operators were found up to 23 October 2026.

Court or authority

FIOD (Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, Netherlands), with Europol and the authorities in Luxembourg

Jurisdiction

Netherlands

Parties

The operators of Bestmixer.io, not named

Charges or claims

A criminal investigation into money laundering through the mixer

Outcome

Service shut down; no prosecution found.

Next known date

None known.

Why it matters

Europol called it the first law enforcement action of its kind against a cryptocurrency mixer.

Confidence: Confirmed. Checked on 23 Oct 2026.