Roman Storm’s defense team has moved to exclude a key witness in his upcoming criminal trial, raising concerns that last-minute testimony could unfairly bias jurors.
In a Thursday court filing, attorneys for the Tornado Cash co-founder argued that the witness—allegedly involved in a hack and said to have used the privacy protocol—was disclosed past the legal deadline and poses a serious risk of prejudicing the jury.
The defense claims the testimony could mislead jurors into wrongly associating Storm with the hack, despite no direct link. “This would evoke an emotional reaction and paint Mr. Storm in an unjustified light,” the filing states.
If the motion is denied, Storm’s lawyers have indicated they may seek a short continuance to delay the trial, which is currently set to begin with jury selection on Monday.
The trial, nearly two years in the making, will determine Storm’s liability on charges including money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitter, and violating U.S. sanctions. A final ruling on pretrial motions is expected by Friday.
Meanwhile, Storm has voiced concerns over the case’s broader implications, claiming in a recent post that if he loses, “DeFi dies with me.”
Storm continues to receive widespread support from the crypto community, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Paradigm’s Matt Huang, who have donated to his legal defense.
His co-founder, Alexey Pertsev, was convicted on similar charges in the Netherlands and sentenced to over five years in prison in 2024. Another co-founder, Roman Semenov, remains at large and is believed to be hiding in Russia.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Коста се присъедини към екипа през 2021 г. и бързо се наложи с жаждата си за знания, невероятната си отдаденост и аналитично мислене. Той не само обхваща широк спектър от актуални теми, но и пише отлични рецензии, PR статии и образователни материали. Статиите му се цитират и от други информационни агенции.
Source: https://coindoo.com/tornado-cashs-roman-storm-seeks-to-block-late-witness-trial-delay-possible/