US Treasury revealed that Tornado Cash is connected with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and its nuclear weapon program.
The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department, has “delisted and simultaneously redesignated” sanctions towards crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
According to the press release shared on November 8th, “the August 8th, 2022 designation of Tornado Cash is no longer operative.”
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In the press release, OFAC added additional information and justifications for sanctioning Tornado Cash. In a nutshell, OFAC claims that Tornado Cash was sanctioned due to “enabling malicious cyber activities, which ultimately support the DPRK’s [weapons of mass destruction] program.“
It is worth noting that sanctions issued on August 8th, 2022 cited the connection between Tornado Cash and North Korean Lazarus Group but not with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and its nuclear weapon program.
OFAC once again highlighted Tornado Cash’s involvement in a $455 million cryptocurrency heist allegedly committed by the North Korean Lazarus Group in March 2022.
In its newly issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, OFAC shared additional information regarding the matter, stating:
OFAC has not designated Tornado Cash’s individual founders, developers, members of the DAO, or users, or other persons involved in supporting Tornado Cash at this time.
However, OFAC added that despite the change in the reasoning behind sanctions, US citizens cannot “transact with Tornado Cash or deal in its property and interests in property.”
It is not the first time the US Treasury is sharing additional information about Tornado Cash sanctions. In the middle of September, OFAC cleared the air claiming that US residents won’t violate sanctions by copying and publishing mixers' open-source code or discussing and including open-source code in publications.
It is worth noting that regarding its sanctions towards Tornado Cash, US Treasury was sued by Coin Center and various crypto investors claiming that OFAC “exceeded their statutory authority.”
