🚨 Bombshell in the Samourai Wallet case
Six months before indicting the developers, DOJ asked FinCEN if Samourai’s non-custodial wallet and coinjoin tools qualified as “money transmission” under existing US statutes.
FinCEN’s answer? Emphatic: NO.
DOJ charged them anyway.
Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill were charged with “conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.” That’s felony territory, carrying the threat of years in prison. But internal records now reveal DOJ knew beforehand that FinCEN didn’t think Samourai needed a license. They hid this from the defense for over a year.
This is regulation by indictment: prosecutors creating new interpretations of law behind closed doors, contradicting regulators and democratic process. If this stands, any software developer could face prison for writing code that someone else uses to send money.
Even worse: DOJ’s conduct defies the Trump administration’s new crypto policy. Deputy AG Todd Blanche issued clear guidance in April: DOJ must not charge developers of non-custodial tools unless they willfully ignored a licensing duty.
FinCEN says no such duty exists here.
DOJ has told the judge it’s “considering dismissal.” It should do more than consider.
👉 Drop the charges.
👉 Investigate the misconduct.
👉 Respect the law.
Read BPI Head of Policy Zack Shapiro's analysis of the recently filed Brady letter here: https://btcpolicy.org/articles/fincen-said-that-samourai-wallet-case-violated-treasurys-aml-guidance--doj-prosecuted-devs-anyway
Bitcoin Policy Institute /
npub15k…8nl20
2025-05-05 21:15:03
Author Public Key
npub15kxltm8gws78p85fc5frn5yv6cd03k3hwp7r2r7s6ts4aq5qrags88nl20Seen on
wss://relay.nostr.bandPublished at
2025-05-05 21:15:03Event JSON
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"content": "🚨 Bombshell in the Samourai Wallet case\n\nSix months before indicting the developers, DOJ asked FinCEN if Samourai’s non-custodial wallet and coinjoin tools qualified as “money transmission” under existing US statutes.\n\nFinCEN’s answer? Emphatic: NO.\n\nDOJ charged them anyway.\n\nKeonne Rodriguez and William Hill were charged with “conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.” That’s felony territory, carrying the threat of years in prison. But internal records now reveal DOJ knew beforehand that FinCEN didn’t think Samourai needed a license. They hid this from the defense for over a year.\n\nThis is regulation by indictment: prosecutors creating new interpretations of law behind closed doors, contradicting regulators and democratic process. If this stands, any software developer could face prison for writing code that someone else uses to send money.\n\nEven worse: DOJ’s conduct defies the Trump administration’s new crypto policy. Deputy AG Todd Blanche issued clear guidance in April: DOJ must not charge developers of non-custodial tools unless they willfully ignored a licensing duty.\n\nFinCEN says no such duty exists here.\n\nDOJ has told the judge it’s “considering dismissal.” It should do more than consider.\n\n👉 Drop the charges.\n\n👉 Investigate the misconduct.\n\n👉 Respect the law.\n\nRead BPI Head of Policy Zack Shapiro's analysis of the recently filed Brady letter here: https://btcpolicy.org/articles/fincen-said-that-samourai-wallet-case-violated-treasurys-aml-guidance--doj-prosecuted-devs-anyway",
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