US Attorneys in New York’s Southern District continued presenting their case in opposition to Twister Money co-founder and developer Roman Storm, anticipated to final a couple of month.
In line with reporting from Internal Metropolis Press contained in the courtroom on Thursday, Assistant US Legal professional Thane Rehn stated the prosecution anticipated to shut its case in opposition to Storm by the tip of subsequent week, resulting in the Twister Money co-founder’s attorneys calling their very own witnesses.
Storm stated he anticipated the trial to final “3-4 weeks because of advanced authorized arguments and unexpected witnesses and proof.”
The prosecution launched its case this week by providing testimony from quite a lot of witnesses, together with people related with hackers who allegedly used Twister Money to launder funds. On Thursday, the courtroom heard testimony from FBI workers, together with a forensic accountant and a particular agent who searched Storm’s house close to Seattle.
Storm faces fees of cash laundering, conspiracy to function an unlicensed cash transmitter and conspiracy to violate US sanctions associated to his position on the crypto mixing service, which he based with Alexey Pertsev and Roman Semenov in 2019. He may serve years in jail if discovered responsible on all counts.
Associated: What you must find out about Roman Storm’s Twister Money trial
What’s going to Roman Storm’s protection appear like?
Following the prosecution’s expectation to shut its case by July 25, Storm’s attorneys have already supplied indications of what they’ll current in courtroom as a protection technique. Earlier than the trial started, Storm stated in an interview that he wasn’t positive whether or not his authorized workforce would have him take the stand in his protection.
In a Thursday submitting, Storm’s attorneys prompt that at the least considered one of their witnesses may provide testimony that included references to high-profile kidnappings of crypto customers, as proof that privateness providers like Twister Money had been essential.
“The truth that there have been quite a few high-profile incidents of criminals in search of to acquire people’ cryptocurrency doesn’t in any approach recommend that the jury ought to acquit Mr. Storm out of sympathy for the victims of those crimes,” stated his authorized workforce. “Once more, one of many key causes for cryptocurrency privateness is to guard its customers from criminals preying on them.”
The prosecution is in search of to preclude any testimony on kidnapping and torture, however the decide overseeing the case had not issued a ruling on the time of publication.
Journal: Will Robinhood’s tokenized shares REALLY take over the world? Professionals and cons