Dutch prosecutors are seeking a 64-month jail term for Alexey Pertsev, the developer of crypto mixer Tornado Cash, on money laundering charges. Pertsev is accused of concealing criminal financial flows and facilitating the laundering of $1.2 billion in crypto through Tornado Cash between July 2019 and August 2022.
The trial took place at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch court in the Netherlands, where it was revealed that the US Treasury Department had blacklisted Tornado Cash in August 2022. The mixer was allegedly involved in multiple money laundering schemes, including assisting North Korean hackers in laundering over $600 million from the Axie Infinity Ronin Network.
Following the blacklisting, Pertsev was arrested by the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) in the Netherlands. The FIOD stated that investigations showed at least one billion dollars worth of cryptocurrencies of criminal origin passed through the mixer, with the suspects making large-scale profits from these transactions.
The judge’s final verdict on Pertsev’s case is expected on May 14. Investigations against the co-founders of Tornado Cash, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, are also ongoing. Storm’s trial is set for September, while Semenov remains at large.
This case highlights the importance of balancing innovation with regulatory mechanisms to prevent financial crimes in the crypto space. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
