Dutch Court Denies Bail for Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev Amid Ongoing Appeal
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Alexey Pertsev, the Tornado Cash developer recently sentenced to five years and four months in prison on money laundering charges by a Dutch court, faces continued detention.
Despite his legal team’s filing for an appeal with the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal, Pertsev’s bid for bail has been rejected, prolonging his stay behind bars.
The denial of bail, as reported by DL News, came as a surprise to Pertsev’s defense lawyer, who had hoped his client could await trial under more conducive conditions, including access to the internet and necessary legal resources.
However, these hopes were dashed when the court upheld the decision to keep Pertsev in custody, denying him even the use of a computer to aid in trial preparation.
Crypto Veterans Criticze Court’s Decision
Crypto veterans have been loud in their criticism of the court’s decision, particularly from advocates like JusticeDAO, which is raising funds for Pertsev’s legal defense.
“Alexey will spend the next year in jail while his legal team prepares for the appeal hearing. This is a gross miscarriage of justice. Developers should not be incarcerated for the actions of others,” an anonymous account associated with the organization lamented.
Pertsev is one of three developers of Tornado Cash targeted for their roles in developing the cryptocurrency mixing protocol.
Supporters argue that Tornado Cash enhances privacy on the Ethereum blockchain, while prosecutors allege that the developers either knowingly aided or failed to prevent illicit organizations from laundering stolen funds through their platform.
“This unprecedented case addresses when a software developer can be criminally liable for third-party misuse,” his defense lawyer Judith de Boer said.
Pertsev Was Arrested in 2022
Pertsev was detained in the Netherlands in August 2022 when Tornado Cash was blacklisted by the U.S. government.
At the time, the U.S. Treasury accused Tornado Cash of being a crucial tool for the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.
This group has been linked to major crypto thefts, including the $625 million hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network.
The outcome of Pertsev’s trial could have implications for the pending trials of other Tornado Cash developers.
Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, who also played a role in the development of the crypto mixer, are facing allegations of money laundering and sanctions violations in the United States.
Storm is scheduled to stand trial in September, while Semenov has not yet been apprehended.
Storm was arrested last year after Tornado Cash was once again added to the U.S. sanctions watchlist.
It is worth noting that, in the United States, Storm is not accused of being directly responsible for the laundering of $1.2 billion.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, democratic representatives introduced the US Blockchain Integrity Act, which aims to crack down on cryptocurrency mixers.
The proposed legislation aims to disrupt the flow of illicit funds and promote transparency by prohibiting financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and registered money service businesses from accepting funds processed through a mixer.
Failure to do so would result in civil penalties of up to $100,000.
