Tornado Cash Founders Arrested for $1 Billion Money Laundering Scheme

The founders of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer, have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Roman Storm has been arrested in Washington state, while Roman Semenov remains at large. The indictment alleges that Tornado Cash facilitated over $1 billion in money laundering transactions and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for the sanctioned North Korean cybercrime organization, Lazarus Group. The founders knowingly operated the service, despite being aware of its use by hackers and fraudsters to conceal the proceeds of their crimes.