Roman Storm: DOJ subpoenas prompted banks to ‘debank’ me

Roman Storm, the developer of the Ethereum mixing protocol Tornado Cash, says Department of Justice subpoenas prompted banks to close his accounts during his prosecution, which limited his ability to pay lawyers and forced him to turn to crypto fundraising.

Storm was convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with Tornado Cash. He faces possible additional charges, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, and may face a second trial.

He wrote on social media that banks stopped providing services after receiving DOJ subpoenas. “Anyone who goes through a DOJ prosecution quickly learns this pattern: the moment the DOJ storms all your accounts with subpoenas, your bank shuts you down. It’s one of their tools to restrict your ability to defend yourself – making it harder to pay attorneys, manage your case, stay solvent,” he wrote.

Storm says a GoFundMe campaign was reimbursed without explanation and other crowdfunding platforms blocked or returned donations, leaving cryptocurrency as the only reliable way to raise money for legal fees. “Crypto allowed me to crowdfund my legal defense. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to fight this case at all,” he posted.

Jackie Reses, co-founder and CEO of Lead Bank, told a podcast that debanking is “an absolute crock of shit” and argued that the large number of banks in the United States makes it unlikely that political leanings would prevent access to banking services.

Storm expects to rely on cryptocurrency donations if he faces a second trial or pursues appeals and warned that additional proceedings will require more funding. “We may face a second trial. We may need to go through appeals. There are a lot of unknowns ahead, and every one of them costs money,” he posted.

The exchange between Storm and Reses highlights competing accounts of whether subpoenas prompt banks to cut services for defendants in cases involving blockchain tools. Storm’s posts and Reses’ remarks present differing views on how banks respond after receiving subpoenas.