Prosecutors invoke Bitcoin Fog ruling in Roman Storm's venue challenge as FinCEN withdraws proposed mixer regulations.
Regulation & Gov ·
Federal prosecutors in Roman Storm's Tornado Cash case invoked an appeals court decision upholding Bitcoin Fog founder Roman Sterlingov's conviction to argue that Storm's trial in Manhattan was properly located, citing testimony from a user who accessed the mixer from his Manhattan apartment. The prosecution's letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, filed Monday, drew parallels to the D.C. Circuit's September 25 ruling, which had found venue proper in Washington based on a law enforcement deposit and withdrawal of approximately $250 in Bitcoin. Storm responded by highlighting FinCEN's withdrawal the same day of a 2023 proposal requiring financial institutions to report international crypto mixing transactions, noting the agency cited concerns that the broad definition could discourage lawful activity. A Manhattan jury convicted Storm in August 2025 on conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, with a decision pending on his motion challenging venue among other grounds.