- Buy Crypto
- Markets
Futures- Spot
- Copy Trade
- Earn
- More
Samourai Wallet’s Legal Team Accuses U.S. Prosecutors of Withholding Crucial FinCEN Guidance Before Filing Charges
By: defi-planet|2025/05/06 21:00:02
0
Share
Lawyers representing the co-founders of Samourai Wallet are accusing federal prosecutors of deliberately concealing key guidance from the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that could undermine the criminal case against their clients.In a letter submitted to the Manhattan federal court, attorneys for Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, CEO and CTO of the crypto mixing platform, respectively, allege that the Department of Justice withheld exculpatory information that surfaced months before the duo was charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and engaging in money laundering.According to the letter, FinCEN informed prosecutors in late 2023 that Samourai Wallet did not fall under the “Money Services Business” (MSB) category, which would have required the firm to register for a license. Rodriguez and Hill were arrested in April 2024 following unsealed charges brought against them in February. The U.S. government alleges that its crypto-mixing service processed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions, including more than $100 million tied to online black markets and fraudulent schemes. Both executives have pleaded not guilty. The defence claims that prosecutors should have disclosed their FinCEN conversations no later than May 8, 2024 — two weeks after the charges were unsealed — but only revealed the details on April 1, 2025. This information suggested the service was not a money services business (MSB). The defence is seeking a court hearing on the late disclosure and plans to renew their motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the executives believed they were operating legally.The push for dismissal comes amid broader shifts in the Justice Department’s stance on crypto enforcement. In April, the DOJ and Samourai requested more time to evaluate the case after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo stating the department would no longer pursue mixers for unintentional violations of financial regulations. If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”The post Samourai Wallet’s Legal Team Accuses U.S. Prosecutors of Withholding Crucial FinCEN Guidance Before Filing Charges appeared first on DeFi Planet.
You may also like
Trading Never Sleeps: On-Chain, Crude Oil, and Leverage
The prices in this window are determined by emotions, amplified by leverage, driven by the narrative of war—rather than by the supply and demand of crude oil.
On-chain Yield Panorama: The Evolution from Interest-bearing Stablecoins to Crypto Credit Products
In a bear market, investors tend to prefer more stable returns and lower underlying risks, which has driven the growth of interest-bearing stablecoins.
RootData announced the integration with OpenClaw, and these gameplay features have gone viral
In the era of AI Agents, the value of data lies not in "ownership," but in "connection."
Key Market Intelligence on March 9th, how much did you miss out on?
1. On-chain Funds: $221M flowed into Hyperliquid last week; $186.7M flowed out of Arbitrum
2. Largest Price Swings: $DENT, $UAI
3. Top News: Middle East Conflict Sparks Stagflation Trading, Global Stock Markets Shed Around $6 Trillion
a16z: After AI Superpowers, Where to Next for Humanity?
Cryptocurrency will become the cornerstone of trust in this new era.
Why Does Oil Go Up When Bitcoin Goes Down?
The Impact of Middle Eastern Oil on Bitcoin Price
Decoding 112,000 Polymarket Addresses: The Top 1% Making Money Are Doing These Five Things
Those loss-making addresses are not stupid, just lacking discipline — too many markets involved, overexposure, excessive FOMO, and hardly any post-mortem.
AAVE founder issues a warning: DeFi must never become the exit liquidity for Wall Street private credit
In order for RWA to succeed in DeFi and for DeFi to achieve meaningful scale expansion through real-world assets, the entire industry needs to thoughtfully and cautiously build opportunities that connect TradFi (traditional finance) and on-chain markets.
How To Create A Frequency So Strong It Makes Reality Obey You
The first-ever WEEX AI Hackathon has concluded, with 10 winners emerging from over 200 global teams. Beyond its $1.8 million prize pool, the event marked a milestone—proving that the future of AI trading belongs to accessible, AI-powered innovation.
The cryptocurrency industry has waited for five and a half years, and what they got is half a ticket
The hand that opens this door is not the rule, but the direction of the wind.
The trend of Ethena reveals what information about the cryptocurrency market
Through Ethena's data insights: the collective hedging and self-protection of VCs and project parties is leading the crypto market into an extreme risk-averse moment of "complete balance between bulls and bears" for the first time in history.
I've been in the crypto industry for five and a half years, and all I got was half a ticket.
The hand that opens this door is not a rule, but a wind.
Crude Oil Surges 25%, Hyperliquid Unfolds On-Chain Showdown
Hyperliquid users now need to keep an eye on the latest developments in the Iran Hormuz Strait, while a DeFi OG is using on-chain derivatives to hedge against war risk.
$20 Billion Valuation, Is Kalshi Engaging in an Arms Race with Polymarket?
US-Iran Conflict + World Cup + Eve of Elections, Predicts Market Key Data Points to Reach New All-Time Highs in 2026.
Will Not Messing with OpenClaw Lead to Obsolescence in the AI Era? | Lobster Fuss Summit
Amazon Web Services On-Site Guidance to Deploy OpenClaw, Low-Cost and User-Friendly
Anticipating the Market's New Challenge to Political Elections
The next US presidential election will depend on the prediction markets
The Shadow Business Empire of Iran's New Supreme Leader: Oil, Real Estate, and Financial Intrigue
From political and military influence to shaping the financial network, Mujataba has secretly laid the groundwork to assume the ultimate leadership position.
Next-Generation Software Built for Trillion-Agent Scale
When the Agent becomes a key user of the software, software design, infrastructure, and business model will all change accordingly
Trading Never Sleeps: On-Chain, Crude Oil, and Leverage
The prices in this window are determined by emotions, amplified by leverage, driven by the narrative of war—rather than by the supply and demand of crude oil.
On-chain Yield Panorama: The Evolution from Interest-bearing Stablecoins to Crypto Credit Products
In a bear market, investors tend to prefer more stable returns and lower underlying risks, which has driven the growth of interest-bearing stablecoins.
RootData announced the integration with OpenClaw, and these gameplay features have gone viral
In the era of AI Agents, the value of data lies not in "ownership," but in "connection."
Key Market Intelligence on March 9th, how much did you miss out on?
1. On-chain Funds: $221M flowed into Hyperliquid last week; $186.7M flowed out of Arbitrum
2. Largest Price Swings: $DENT, $UAI
3. Top News: Middle East Conflict Sparks Stagflation Trading, Global Stock Markets Shed Around $6 Trillion
a16z: After AI Superpowers, Where to Next for Humanity?
Cryptocurrency will become the cornerstone of trust in this new era.
Why Does Oil Go Up When Bitcoin Goes Down?
The Impact of Middle Eastern Oil on Bitcoin Price
App