Founders of crypto mixer arrested, sanctioned after US cracks down on Tornado Cash
Earlier DU thread: U.S. sanctions crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, citing North Korea ties
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Source: Associated Press
Founders of crypto mixer arrested, sanctioned after US cracks down on Tornado Cash
BY FATIMA HUSSEIN
Updated 6:43 PM EDT, August 23, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. government officials on Wednesday started cracking down on the co-founders of the virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, just days after a federal judge decided that the government had the authority to sanction them.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Russian national Roman Semenov, one of the three co-founders of Tornado Cash, for allegedly supporting the North Korean hacking organization Lazarus Group, among other things.
Also Wednesday, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging Semenov and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, from Auburn, Washington, with conspiracy to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and other crimes. Storm was arrested in Washington on Wednesday by federal officials.
Semenov is believed to be in Dubai.
https://apnews.com/article/cryptocurrency-treasury-crypto-sanctions-russia-north-korea-88115029d0a033b7b8b3e3a34dccf00c
