A New York judge has ruled that the case against Roman Storm, the developer of Tornado Cash, will proceed to trial. Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Storm's motion to dismiss the charges, which include conspiracy to commit money laundering and operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Storm's arguments that he was being prosecuted for writing code, which he claimed was protected by free speech, were rejected by the judge. Failla stated that the functional capability of code is not considered speech under the First Amendment. The government has accused Tornado Cash and its developers of facilitating the laundering of over $1 billion, including hundreds of millions from North Korea's Lazarus Group.
Storm has pleaded not guilty to all charges and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted. The trial is set to begin on December 2 and is expected to last two weeks.