Details:

Roman Semenov is wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal activities regarding conspiracy to commit: money laundering, sanctions violations, and money service business violations.  Semenov is allegedly one of the founders of the Tornado Cash service, a cryptocurrency mixer that allowed its customers to engage in untraceable transfers of cryptocurrency. Semenov and his co-conspirators allegedly created the core features of the Tornado Cash service, paid for critical infrastructure to operate the service, promoted the service, and made millions of dollars in profits from operating the service. The Tornado Cash service was ultimately used to launder more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds. 

In April and May of 2022, the Tornado Cash service was allegedly used by the Lazarus Group, a sanctioned North Korean cybercrime organization, to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in hacking proceeds. Semenov and his co-conspirators allegedly knew that the Tornado Cash service they were operating was engaging in these sanctions-violating transactions. They allegedly continued to operate the Tornado Cash service and facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars in further sanctions-violating transactions, helping the Lazarus Group to transfer criminal proceeds from a cryptocurrency wallet that had been designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as blocked property.

A federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, New York, New York, on August 21, 2023, after Semenov was charged federally with Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; Conspiracy to Operate an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business; and Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.