Developer Retrial Delayed Amid Acquittal Motion Review

The federal retrial for Roman Storm, a developer instrumental in building a prominent cryptocurrency privacy protocol, has been officially postponed until the spring of 2027. The delay gives a federal court additional time to review the defendant's pending motion for an outright acquittal.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York authorized a two-page order on August 25 to formalize the delay, setting a new retrial date of April 26, 2027, according to a report from BeInCrypto. The adjustment accommodates a scheduling request initiated by Storm's legal team, while prosecutors had previously favored proceeding with the case much sooner.

Revised Procedural Calendar

The court’s latest order establishes a completely updated timeline for the necessary pretrial discovery and procedural steps. According to BeInCrypto, the government is now required to submit its expert disclosures by February 5, 2027. The defense will follow up with its own disclosures by March 5, 2027. Daubert motions and motions in limine, which govern the admissibility of evidence and expert testimony, are due by March 30, 2027. A final pretrial conference will serve as the last procedural hurdle on April 20, 2027.

Storm's legal representatives requested the delay to ensure they have adequate preparation time following any potential ruling on his pending Rule 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal. As detailed by Cointelegraph, the defense argued they would require a minimum of 90 days after the court issues a decision on the acquittal motion before they could begin another trial.

In contrast, government prosecutors actively opposed the lengthy adjournment. Prosecutors had initially proposed starting the retrial in October 2026 to resolve the remaining charges, according to BeInCrypto.

Addressing the federal time limits that typically govern criminal proceedings, Judge Failla formally paused the clock. The court order stated, “The ends of justice would be served by excluding time under the Speedy Trial Act through April 26, 2027, and that this would outweigh the interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy retrial,” according to BeInCrypto.

Prior Conviction and Unresolved Charges

The current legal standoff stems from a prior trial that concluded on August 6, 2025. During those proceedings, a Manhattan jury found Storm guilty of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, BeInCrypto reported. According to Cointelegraph, that specific conviction carries a potential statutory penalty of up to five years in federal prison.

However, the original jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on two more severe counts: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate United States sanctions. Prosecutors are seeking the retrial specifically to resolve those two deadlocked charges.

Storm's defense team maintains that the initial guilty verdict should be thrown out altogether, arguing that the government failed to present adequate evidence to support the conviction, per BeInCrypto. Addressing his supporters on the social media platform X, Storm expressed ongoing frustration over the timeline of his legal battle, noting that his acquittal motion remains undecided and the ultimate conclusion of the case is still unknown, according to Cointelegraph.