On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, Samouraï Wallet’s developers made their first public appearance since their arrest during a hearing before the Southern District Court of New York.
During this hearing, the evidence presented by the prosecution was divided into 3 sets:
- The 1st set, including company records, emails, and information from social media, was provided as early as June 2024;
- The 2nd set, containing data extracted from the developers' devices, was handed over to the defense in August 2024;
- A 3rd set is expected to be provided soon.
The defense attorneys stated that it was premature to set a trial date due to the sheer volume of documents to be reviewed, estimated at around 8 terabytes according to William Hill's lawyer.
He also referenced a letter published by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden, asserting that non-custodial services, where users retain full control of their assets, should not be considered money transmission services, as they do not receive or control users' funds.
According to the letter, this interpretation contradicts FinCEN's (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) guidelines, which exclude non-custodial services from regulatory obligations concerning money transmission.
Relying on this letter, the defense attempted to file a motion to dismiss the charges, but it was rejected by the judge.
Moreover, the judge also refused to modify the defendants' bail conditions, citing the risk of flight. A new hearing was scheduled for December 17, 2024.
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Cryptoast
Samouraï Wallet : Ce qu'il faut retenir de la 1ère audience des développeurs au tribunal de New York
Les fondateurs de Samouraï Wallet, accusés de blanchiment d’argent, ont fait leur 1ère apparition au tribunal hier.
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Bitcoin Magazine
Samourai Developers Appear Together In Court For First Time At Status Conference
Defense attorneys for Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill continue to argue that the developers didn’t operate a money transmitting busine...
