Court hearing as early as October! U.S. prosecutors seek a retrial of Tornado co-founder, previously charged with laundering $1 billion.

The DOJ requests a new trial for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on money laundering and sanctions charges, with a court date scheduled for October 2026, potentially facing up to 40 years in prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to bring Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm back to court. Regarding two unresolved charges against Storm, prosecutors recently filed a motion for a new trial and proposed a court date in early to mid-October 2026.

According to a letter submitted Monday to Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York, the DOJ explicitly states its intention to reassert charges 1 and 3 in the superseding indictment against Storm. Prosecutors estimate the trial will last about three weeks.

Tornado Cash is a “non-custodial mixer” that obfuscates the flow of funds by blending multiple transactions to enhance privacy on the blockchain. U.S. authorities allege the platform was exploited by criminals, including North Korean hackers, for money laundering involving over $1 billion in illicit funds.

In August last year, a jury found Storm guilty of “operating an unlicensed remittance business,” but could not reach a consensus on two more serious charges—“conspiracy to commit money laundering” and “violating international sanctions,” resulting in a deadlock.

Although Storm has filed a Rule 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal (a request for the judge to declare him not guilty during or after trial), scheduled for argument on April 9, prosecutors strongly urge the court to “set a new trial date first” to avoid delays caused by scheduling conflicts.

The DOJ emphasizes that prosecutors are ready to proceed with a retrial as early as this spring but are willing to accommodate the defense’s schedule. They state:

To avoid further scheduling conflicts and delays, if the court’s schedule permits, the government respectfully requests that the retrial be scheduled around October 5 or 12, 2026.

According to the prosecutors’ letter, Storm and his legal team believe that “it is premature” to set a specific date for the retrial at this stage; however, they confirm that if a new trial is necessary, they can free up three weeks in late September, early October, or early December to appear in court.

Facing persistent prosecution, Storm immediately responded on social platform X, vowing to “never give up the fight for freedom.” He wrote:

These two charges carry a maximum of 40 years in federal prison—just for writing open-source code, for a protocol I can’t control, and for transactions I never touched.

Image source: X/@rstormsf

He further pointed out: “The jury already couldn’t find these actions criminal, but prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are relentless, trying again and again just to get the conviction they want.”

Storm also expressed frustration that his legal defense fund has been exhausted due to the lengthy and costly legal process.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《BlockBeats》
• Original title: 《Court to open as early as October! US prosecutors seek retrial for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm》
• Original author: Block Sister MEL