The U.S. Department of Justice has charged the founder of Tornado Cash with money laundering and violations of sanctions regulations

ChainCatcher news, according to an official announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Tornado Cash founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, violating sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The indictment states that the two are accused of creating, operating, and promoting Tornado Cash, facilitating over $1 billion in money laundering transactions, and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for the sanctioned North Korean cybercrime organization Lazarus Group.

Currently, Roman Storm has been arrested in Washington State and is scheduled to appear today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, while Roman Semenov remains at large. Additionally, Roman Semenov has been placed on the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals list.