Samourai Wallet Co-Founders Seek Dismissal of DOJ Charges in Court
Co-founders of Bitcoin privacy app Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, challenged U.S. government charges claiming they operated an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspired to commit money laundering. They filed a motion to dismiss the indictment in a Manhattan federal court.
- Defense argues that Samourai Wallet does not handle user funds, thus should not be classified as a financial institution or money transmitter.
- The app is described as non-custodial, helping users obscure transactions through CoinJoin, while users retain control of their crypto.
- Defense cites Treasury Department guidance stating anonymizing software providers are not subject to money transmitter regulations.
- They claim the Department of Justice's charges represent a significant deviation from established FinCEN policies.
- Concerns raised that DOJ's theory could impact developers of various privacy tools.
- Crypto advocacy groups like Coin Center and the DeFi Education Fund may file amicus briefs supporting the motion, warning of potential chilling effects on innovation and civil liberties.
The court will hear arguments on July 22.