Tornado Cash Creator, Alexey Pertsev, Convicted of Money Laundering in Dutch Court
Summary:
Alexey Pertsev, creator of Tornado Cash, a non-custodial crypto mixing protocol, has been convicted by Dutch courts of laundering $1.2 billion in illicit assets through the platform. Despite the non-custodial nature of Tornado Cash, Pertsev has been sentenced to over five years in prison. His defense has two weeks to appeal.
In a significant ruling, Alexey Pertsev, the creator of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing protocol, has been convicted of money laundering. This verdict might have profound effects on open-source software developers. Pertsev's conviction was declared on May 14th by Dutch magistrates in 's-Hertogenbosch, with the developer receiving a sentence of five years and four months imprisonment, accused of allegedly cleaning $1.2 billion in unlawful assets via the platform.
Interestingly, Tornado Cash operates as a non-custodial crypto mixing protocol, meaning that it neither holds nor manages the funds funneled through it. Regardless, Pertsev was judged guilty after his initial imprisonment in the Netherlands in August 2022, which occurred near the time when Tornado Cash was placed on the U.S. government's blacklist.
Pertsev's defense team has been granted a two-week window to contest the court's decision. On a related note, CryptoQuant's CEO stated that cryptocurrency mixing is not a criminal act. This is an ongoing story, and more details will be delivered as they surface.
Published At
5/14/2024 2:57:08 PM
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