1095. Who is the Tornado Cash “person” that OFAC designated pursuant to E.O. 13722 (“Blocking Property of the Government of North Korea and the Workers’ Party of Korea, and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to North Korea”) and Executive Order (E.O.) 13694 (“Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities”), as amended?
A “person” subject to designation under E.O. 13722 or E.O. 13694, as amended, includes an individual or an entity, defined as “a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization.” Once OFAC has determined that a person is subject to sanctions, OFAC adds that person to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
OFAC designated the entity known as Tornado Cash, which is a “partnership, association, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization” that may be designated pursuant to IEEPA. Tornado Cash’s organizational structure consists...
[11-29-24 Update - see Joseph Van Loon et al v. Department of the Treasury et al. (2024, 5th Cir.), and comments thereto. This FAQ is likely to be removed or amended at some point in the future; the below has not yet been amended in light of the 5th Circuit opinion.]
1) Read in conjunction with Treasury Designates DPRK Weapons Representatives (November 8, 2022 Press Release) and Consolidated Comment on the Designation and Redesignation of Tornado Cash; Ensuing Litigation (System Ed. Note).
This FAQ was issued concurrently with OFAC’s redesignation of Tornado Cash (as a reaction to a lawsuit challenging the designation in part based on an argument that “Tornado Cash,” as a software program, was not a “person” capable of designation. With the redesignation and this FAQ, OFAC appears to...