NAIROBI (CoinChapter.com) — Keonne Rodriguez, the co-founder of cryptocurrency mixing service Samourai Wallet, has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The 35-year-old was arrested on April 24 and appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 29.
Authorities released Rodriguez on a $1 million bond with strict conditions. He must remain under house arrest in Pennsylvania, wear a location monitoring device, and be banned from engaging in any cryptocurrency transactions without court approval. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 14th.
Money Laundering Allegations
Federal prosecutors allege that between 2015 and 2023, Samourai Wallet facilitated over $100 million in transactions involving criminal proceeds from the dark web. In total, they claim over $2 billion passed through the mixing service.
In announcing the charges, the Department of Justice stated Rodriguez and co-defendant William Hill “encouraged and openly invited users to launder criminal proceeds” by marketing Samourai Wallet’s services to “restricted markets.”
However, Rodriguez has firmly denied the accusations. His legal team maintains that he created software to protect users’ financial privacy, a core principle of cryptocurrency.
Interestingly, jurisdiction in the case seems to stem from an undercover law enforcement agent who allegedly deposited funds into Samourai Wallet and transmitted them while in New York. This raises questions about whether the agent was operating their own Dojo (Samourai Wallet node) or utilizing an existing node during these transactions.pen_spark
The Samourai Wallet Crackdown
The Department of Justice claims Samourai Wallet moved more than $100 million in illicit funds from dark web sources and roughly $2 billion in total unlawful transactions. Rodriguez’s initial arrest on April 24 occurred at his home in Pennsylvania. Shortly thereafter, authorities seized the firm’s servers and domain in Iceland.
The Samourai Wallet case is part of a broader push against mixers – services that obscure the origin of cryptocurrency transactions. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash and Blender, prompting criticism within the crypto industry about potential overreach. Despite these concerns, the government shows no signs of slowing down its focus on mixer services.
The Justice Department argues that mixers like Samourai Wallet facilitate cybercrime. However, privacy advocates express concerns about suppressing tools that enhance legitimate financial privacy. They argue that mixers are not inherently illicit, and the crackdown could stifle innovation.
