- Twister Money founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have been charged with cash laundering and sanctions violations.
- U.S. Legal professional Damien Williams stated builders knew their know-how was used to launder no less than $1 billion in illicit earnings.
- The Treasury Division’s Workplace of International Asset Management (OFAC) sanctioned Twister Money final over hyperlinks to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
- Developer Alex Pertsev was arrested by Dutch police final 12 months and later launched on dwelling arrest after 9 months.
The founders of OFAC-sanctioned crypto Twister Money face fees over $1 billion in illicit wealth allegedly laundered by means of the crypto tumbler.
Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have been arrested following fees of cash laundering and sanctions violations because the U.S. continues its crackdown on crypto companies and decentralized monetary instruments.
Semenov particularly was added to the Treasury Division’s Workplace of International Asset Management (OFAC) SDN record that includes “Specifically Designated Nationals and Blocked Individuals”. The OFAC additionally sanctioned eight Ethereum addresses owned by the founder.
Twister Money which permits customers to anonymize crypto transactions on the Ethereum community was blacklisted by U.S. authorities final 12 months. The U.S. linked to DeFi platform to the state-funded hacker group Lazarus in North Korea.
On Tuesday, U.S. Legal professional Damien Williams wrote that Twister Money builders have been conscious that criminals laundered lots of of thousands and thousands of stolen funds by means of their crypto obfuscating service.
Whereas publicly claiming to supply a technically refined privateness service, Storm and Semenov in actual fact knew that they have been serving to hackers and fraudsters conceal the fruits of their crimes.
The indictment alerts prosecution for actors who knowingly violate U.S. legal guidelines by laundering cash by means of cryptocurrencies, Legal professional Williams added.
Twister Money Caught In US Storm
Along with fees in opposition to Twister Money founders and large cash laundering fees, developer Alexey Pertsev was arrested by Dutch police for his involvement within the venture. Pertsev spent 9 months in detention earlier than his launch on dwelling arrest.
