Twister Money co-founder Roman Storm’s attorneys have signaled that they could request a short delay in his upcoming felony trial if a decide permits testimony from a hacker who allegedly used the platform, in keeping with July 10 court docket filings.
In a submitting with the U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York, Storm’s protection staff requested to exclude the unnamed witness, arguing prosecutors disclosed the person after the agreed deadline.
The witness is described because the perpetrator of an alleged hack who laundered funds by way of the Ethereum-based mixer to obscure trails.
In response to the protection:
“[The testimony] could be unfairly prejudicial as it might seemingly confuse and mislead the jurors into believing that Mr. Storm was concerned within the underlying purported hack or supposed to facilitate it, which isn’t true.”
Storm’s attorneys argued the testimony might provoke “an offended response” from jurors, unfairly impacting their notion of the defendant. They reserved the proper to hunt a continuance if the court docket denies the movement to exclude.
Storm’s trial is about to start on July 14, practically two years after he was indicted on fees of cash laundering, conspiracy to function an unlicensed cash transmitter, and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. The decide is anticipated to rule on the witness motions by the tip of this week.
Federal prosecutors have referred to as a number of witnesses “victims” of Twister Money-enabled crimes. In a June submit on social media, Storm stated:
“SDNY is attempting to crush me, blocking each professional witness. If I lose, DeFi dies with me.”
The developer has acquired robust assist from the crypto neighborhood, together with Paradigm founder Matt Huang, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and the Ethereum Basis. Supporters have contributed significantly to his authorized protection and argued that writing code shouldn’t be criminalized.
Alexey Pertsev, one other Twister Money co-founder, was sentenced to over 5 years in jail within the Netherlands in 2024 for cash laundering. Roman Semenov, additionally named in Storm’s indictment, stays at giant, with experiences suggesting he could also be in hiding in Russia.
Storm’s trial is scheduled to start with jury choice on Monday earlier than Decide Katherine Failla.
