The fund has already collected more than 327 ETH, which is valued at $785,000. According to the Defend Roman Storm crowdsourcing page, the funds were received through 148 payments. This is Buterin’s third contribution to the Free Alexey & Roman Storm fund. In May, Buterin made a transfer in the amount of 30 ETH (about $111,000). After receiving the donations, Storm expressed his gratitude to Buterin:
“It’s hard to put into words how much this means to me. Thank you for your many years of support. The funds raised will be used for legal protection of the Tornado Cash developers from the US authorities,” Storm wrote.
In September, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York denied Roman Storm’s motion to dismiss the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit. Last year, federal prosecutors accused Storm of helping launder more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds through a cryptomixer. The developer is also charged with conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transfer business and violating international sanctions.
Storm has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He claims that Tornado Cash is open source software that can be used by anyone and is not controlled by the Tornado Cash developers. However, Judge Failla considered Storm’s arguments that law enforcement officers were persecuting him only for writing code for a cryptomixer insufficient.
The trial of Roman Storm is scheduled to begin in New York on December 2 and will last two weeks. If convicted of all charges, Storm faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison.
Previously, Buterin supported Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith, who was arrested by American law enforcement for holding a conference on blockchain in North Korea.
Source: Bits
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