Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev Sentenced to 64 Months in Prison by Dutch Court

According to the indictment disclosed prior to the trial, Pertsev allegedly engaged in money laundering activities repeatedly between July 9, 2019, and Aug. 10, 2022. The indictment further states that he ought to have recognized the illicit nature of certain transactions on the Tornado Cash platform.

As a crypto investor, I’d rephrase it as follows: In August 2022, I came across some troubling news regarding Tornado Cash and its developer. This privacy protocol had been blacklisted by the U.S. government, with allegations that it was being used by the notorious North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The Lazarus Group, which has been linked to a $625 million heist of Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network and other significant crypto thefts, reportedly utilized Tornado Cash for their illicit activities.

The outcome of the upcoming trial for Roman Storm, one of Tornado Cash’s developers, could influence future legal proceedings against other team members, including Roman Semenov, who are similarly accused of money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions. Semenov remains at large, while Storm was arrested last year upon the U.S. reinstating Tornado Cash on its list of sanctioned entities.

In the United States, Storm isn’t charged with laundering $1.2 billion because American and Dutch laws have contrasting views on individual accountability in such suspected offenses.

UPDATE (May 14, 11:41 UTC): Updates headline and lede with prison sentence.