The highly anticipated trial of Roman Storm, developer of Tornado Cash, has been rescheduled for April, as ruled by a New York judge on Friday, marking a four-month delay from its original December start date. This postponement allows both parties to resolve their dispute over the disclosure of expert witnesses, which began last month when Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York ordered the exchange of information regarding potential witnesses. Storm's legal team, led by Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP, objected to this order in a court filing on October 14, arguing that revealing their expert witnesses would compromise Storm's defense and potentially violate federal rules governing criminal proceedings. Klein contended that the government cannot compel the defense to disclose its witnesses unless the defense has made a similar request to the prosecution, which they intentionally avoided to maintain confidentiality.
A hearing on Storm's petition to overturn Judge Failla's order is scheduled for November 12. The trial, now set to commence on April 14 and expected to last two weeks, centers around Storm's involvement with the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, with charges including conspiracy to facilitate money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitter, and violating sanctions, carrying a potential sentence of up to 45 years if convicted on all counts.