In striking down penalties against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash for violating U.S. sanctions, a federal appeals court may have started to chip away at anti-money laundering (AML) regulations established by Democrats even before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the Treasury Departmentโ€™s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) overreached when it sanctioned Tornado Cash in 2022 for allowing North Korean agents to launder money stolen by a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group.

Aaron Nicodemus is the Editor-in-Chief of Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass. Email: aaron.nicodemus@complianceweek.com LinkedIn:...