The U.S. Treasury Department\u2019s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (\u201cFinCEN\u201d) is now facing serious questions after a new court filing reveals it charged the developers of Samourai Wallet with operating an unlicensed money transmitter\u2014despite being told by the relevant regulator that no license was required.![\"A](\"https:\/\/cdn-ilddnad.nitrocdn.com\/XgjmJNBNBbZQEuHAZVzgTqmzytAUTSfp\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-3426a8c\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AD_4nXfIkyd7KoOE9NtAMHO2_L7tmG5OZLzaCEUXuOrnvLj5810iQo6UiNHP1uaDNaLYwHtcdV-LbyYt8wCqUJEhTh_uG7QQPkdbgJjLjGGkz4FL5PTGw-P15adynI4D_MWyqTU4FhzpNQkeyR_XtKBWxwRxmEKiNfgoQuYyj.png\" "\\"Filing")
<\/p>\n
On May 5, 2025, lawyers for Samourai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill filed a letter to Judge Richard Berman in the Southern District of New York disclosing that FinCEN explicitly told U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors in August 2023 that Samourai Wallet did not qualify as a Money Services Business due to its non-custodial nature. The DOJ moved forward with the indictment anyway, and suppressed that exculpatory evidence for over a year. <\/p>\n
\u201cFinCEN\u2019s guidance has generally focused on custody of cryptocurrency\u2026 Because Samourai does not take \u2018custody\u2019\u2026 that would strongly suggest that Samourai is NOT acting as an MSB,\u201d wrote the lead prosecutor in a 2023 internal email just revealed by the defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n Latest Samourai Wallet filing is absolutely wild.<\/p>\n SDNY *suppressed exculpatory evidence* revealing conversations between senior FinCEN officials and Samourai Wallet prosecutors, in which the regulator stated that SW would not qualify as a Money Service Business under current\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/qRh0KWtnFM<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FzCb1KeBKE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 L0la L33tz (@L0laL33tz) May 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Despite this, Rodriguez and Hill were arrested in April 2024<\/a> and accused of laundering over $100 million through Samourai Wallet, which allegedly facilitated $2 billion in unlawful Bitcoin transactions. DOJ press releases<\/a> at the time painted the service as a hub for dark web money laundering, with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stating that the defendants \u201cknowingly facilitated the laundering of over $100 million of criminal proceeds.\u201d<\/p>\n But defense attorneys now argue the government\u2019s own communication with FinCEN undercuts the central charge of operating without a license. \u201cThe relevant regulator told the prosecutors that Samourai Wallet was not a money transmitter\u2026 and the prosecutors went ahead and indicted them anyway,\u201d said the May 5 filing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The timing of this disclosure is especially inconvenient, as it comes after the DOJ issued new internal guidance\u2014known as \u201cEnding Regulation by Prosecution\u201d (the \u201cBlanche Memo\u201d)\u2014explicitly barring prosecutors from charging non-custodial software tools with unlicensed money transmission. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine a clearer example of regulation by prosecution,\u201d the defense added. Zack Shapiro of the Bitcoin Policy Institute summed it up in a viral tweet: \u201cJust revealed: FinCEN explicitly told prosecutors Samourai Wallet wasn\u2019t a money transmitter due to its non-custodial design; DOJ prosecuted developers anyway, suppressing exculpatory evidence for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/cdn-ilddnad.nitrocdn.com\/XgjmJNBNBbZQEuHAZVzgTqmzytAUTSfp\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-3426a8c\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AD_4nXdqHiFa2ATg-JM6sOB6O-EMb0Rqze1ab6It4JRd68u-LlIxGaiHVHqqpvzBoCdnkH4a3LoVsZZPjQM4Rz-RD1l6HIKgOaeTkHxBKTacd-6SaLcoqP0AdBkCYVK3-WiKeDM9nibwvAkeyR_XtKBWxwRxmEKiNfgoQuYyj.png\" "\\"Filing")
<\/p>\n