Coin Center files lawsuit against US Treasury over Tornado Cash sanctions

The advocacy group alleged OFAC “exceeded their statutory authority” in sanctioning Tornado Cash because the mixer was a “privacy tool beyond the control of anyone.”

United States-based crypto policy advocacy group Coin Center has followed through with its intention to take the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, to court over sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.

In an Oct. 12 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, lawyers for Coin Center as well as crypto investor David Hoffman, an anonymous human-rights advocate known only as John Doe and software developer Patrick O’Sullivan filed a complaint against OFAC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and OFAC Director Andrea Gacki. The complaint alleged that sanctioning Tornado Cash was “unprecedented and unlawful,” in part, due to privacy concerns over crypto transactions.

“If a user doesn’t take proactive steps to protect his privacy, the ledger’s transparency allows strangers to track his private associations and stalk his intimate relations,” said the filing. “It invites publicization of and retaliation for his private contributions to unpopular causes. And it allows anyone to see whether he has a lot of assets, which would put a target on his back.”

The plaintiffs added:

“As a result of the Biden Administration’s action, Americans who use Tornado Cash to protect their privacy while using their own assets are criminals. Additionally, their receipt of any asset through