The prosecution of the developers behind Samourai Wallet illustrates how U.S. authorities are broadening their approach to privacy‑focused cryptocurrency tools. In April 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced charges against Keonne Rodriguez, Samourai’s chief executive, and William Lonergan Hill, its chief technology officer. The indictment alleged that Samourai
On November 6, 2025. Keonne Rodriguez, the co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Samourai Wallet, was sentenced for to 60 months in federal prison for the crime of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of 18 U.S.C § 371. The two-count indictment, filed on February 14, 2024, alleged that Defendants Rodriguez and William
On October 15, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act that prohibits U.S. financial institutions from conducting business with the Cambodia-based Huione Group, a financial services conglomerate based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Huione Group is the parent company of, or otherwise controls, several subsidiaries
In a closely watched and complicated case, Van Loon et al. v. Dep’t of the Treasury et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) cannot sanction Tornado Cash, “an open-source, crypto-transactions software protocol that facilitates anonymous transactions by obfuscating the origins and destinations of digital asset transfers.” The opinion, which reversed the ruling of the District Court, is here. A recording of the oral argument is here. The opinion is complex but written in a very clear style.
We previously blogged on OFAC’s designation of Tornado Cash (here) and the resulting civil suit (here). We also covered the indictment returned against the alleged developers of Tornado Cash, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, who were charged with conspiring to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and violating sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA (here). The DOJ subsequently obtained a superseding indictment against Storm only (here); Storm’s trial currently is scheduled for April 2025). When the initial indictment was unsealed, Treasury simultaneously sanctioned Semenov, who remains outside the U.S., by adding him to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN”) List.
These actions are a reminder that, putting aside the complex issues presented by the Fifth Circuit decision regarding OFAC’s (in)ability to sanction a technology, law enforcement and regulators still can pursue people for related alleged conduct. And, invariably, people are involved in a technology.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Rejects OFAC Designation of Tornado Cash Immutable Smart Contracts
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the “Philly Fed”) recently executed an agreement (the “Agreement”) with Pennsylvania-based Customers Bank (and its Customers Bancorp, Inc. holding entity) (collectively, “Customers”). According to the Agreement, “the most recent examinations and inspections” of Customers by the Philly Fed identified “significant deficiencies” related to the bank’s risk management practices, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) compliance, and regulations issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).
The source of these alleged deficiencies is alluded to by the Agreement, which immediately highlights two “digital assets-friendly” elements of Customers’ business model:
The Agreement calls for Customers to submit a number of plans to the Philly Fed by October 5, 2024, several of which explicitly require the Philly Fed’s approval.
Continue Reading Bank’s Digital Assets Business Strategy Draws Federal Reserve Scrutiny
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued its 2024 National Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (“Strategy”). It is a 55-page document which, according to the government’s press release, “addresses the key risks from the 2024 National Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing Risk Assessments. . . and details how the United States will build on recent historic efforts to modernize the U.S. anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, enhance operational effectiveness in combating illicit actors, and embrace technological innovation to mitigate risks.”
The Strategy discusses an enormous list of topics. Given the breadth of its scope, the Strategy generally makes only very high-level comments regarding any particular topic. This post accordingly is extremely high level as well, and offers only a few select comments.
Continue Reading Treasury Issues Broad National Strategy for Combatting Illicit Financing
On April 20, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (“DoBS”) issued a policy statement (“Policy Statement”) to “clarify” that the Department’s interpretation of the term “money” in the Pennsylvania Money Transmitter Act (“MTA”) includes “virtual currency, such as Bitcoin.” The MTA provides in part that “[n]o person shall engage in the business of transmitting money by means of a transmittal instrument for a fee or other consideration with or on behalf of an individual without first having obtained a license from the department.’”
Thus, the Policy Statement means that virtual currency exchangers and related businesses doing business in Pennsylvania must become licensed as money transmitters. The effective date of the Policy Statement is October 15, 2024. Neither the DoBS nor the MTA define “virtual currency.”
Continue Reading PA Department of Banking and Securities: Virtual Currency is “Money”
I am very pleased to co-chair again the Practicing Law Institute’s 2024 Anti-Money Laundering Conference on May 23, 2024, starting at 9 a.m. in New York City (the event also will be virtual).
I am also really fortunate to be working with my fabulous co-chair Elizabeth (Liz) Boison
Components of the U.S. Federal Reserve System recently prevailed in two lawsuits in which both plaintiffs – Custodia Bank and PayServices Bank – alleged the defendants were required to grant the plaintiffs’ master account requests and wrongfully denied them master accounts. Both the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming and the United States District Court for the District of Idaho rejected these claims and instead ruled as a matter of law that the respective regional Federal Reserve Banks had discretion to deny the plaintiffs’ requests for a master account.
Putting aside very extreme instances, these recent decisions further confirm that the Federal Reserve System appears to have near unfettered discretion in determining which banks can receive a master account. Although these court rulings turn primarily on statutory interpretation issues and broad legal principles, these rulings will have particular practical consequences for financial institutions looking to serve niche industries – such as cryptocurrency and cannabis – which regulators perceive as presenting higher risks in regard to anti-money laundering, sanctions, safety and soundness and other regulatory concerns.
Continue Reading Districts of Wyoming and Idaho Affirm Broad Fed Powers over Master Accounts
On April 18, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued a draft version of Form 1099-DA, a proposed information reporting form regarding certain digital asset sales and exchanges that “digital asset brokers” will need to file with the IRS and provide to the individuals involved in the sales and exchanges (“Draft Form”). The detailed and complicated Draft Form would be the first of its kind.
If ultimately promulgated, the Draft Form and its supporting regulations would impose customer identification obligations upon a potentially broad swath of digital industry participants, including those who currently take the position that they do not need to collect customer identification information because they provide only decentralized finance (“DeFi”) services and/or provide only “unhosted” digital wallet services. Such customer identification obligations would be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), rather than – as has been discussed for years – anti-money laundering (“AML”) and Know Your Customer (“KYC”) requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). From the perspective of the digital asset industry, the precise source of the obligations would not matter much, because the practical consequences would be similar: they will need to collect tax identification information from sellers and buyers of digital assets.
Continue Reading IRS Unveils Broad Draft Information Reporting Form for Digital Asset Transactions