Dutch Prosecutors Seek 64-Month Sentence for Tornado Cash Developer

The Dutch prosecution has requested a 64-month prison sentence for Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev, accused of laundering $1.2 billion. This was reported by CoinDesk.

The final verdict is scheduled to be announced on May 14.

Pertsev is charged with conducting at least 36 illegal transactions through the crypto mixer from July 9, 2019, to August 10, 2022.

Co-founders of Tornado Cash, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, have also been previously charged with money laundering and sanctions violations in the United States. The former was released on bail. The latter remains free but has been sanctioned.

In August 2022, OFAC added Tornado Cash to the blacklist for involvement in laundering over $7 billion in illicit funds.

In the same month, Alexey Pertsev was arrested. In April 2023, his pre-trial detention was changed to house arrest.

Since January 2024, Storm and Pertsev have been raising $1.5 million for legal defense. For this purpose, the JusticeDAO fund was created. The initiative has been supported by many in the crypto community.

In February, the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe halted the fundraiser for Tornado Cash, citing risks to its users.