Tornado Cash Developer Appeals Money Laundering Conviction
Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has lodged an appeal with the Dutch s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal subsequent to being sentenced on money laundering charges. Pertsev received a 64-month prison term on May 14 from a Dutch court for his involvement in laundering around $1.2 billion using the Tornado Cash crypto mixer from July 2019 to August 2022.
The appeal was submitted within the court’s designated 14-day timeframe for contesting its verdict. However, the approval and scheduling process for the appeal hearing may extend over several months. Meanwhile, Pertsev is out on bail until the commencement of the appeal proceedings.
The developer’s conviction drew significant criticism from cryptocurrency stakeholders who perceived it as an attack on privacy, cryptocurrency, and open-source technology. Joel Valenzuela, a business development officer for Dash, expressed his thoughts on Twitter:
“Tornado Cash is a smart contract on Ethereum which provides much-needed privacy to users. After it was deployed, anyone could interact with it, and no one could prevent anyone from using it. Because a certain amount of known hacked or sanctioned funds used the protocol, its founders came under threat.”
Legal Ramifications and Continued Usage of Tornado Cash
Moreover, the repercussions of Pertsev’s sentencing could impact the ongoing legal battles of the protocol’s co-founder in the United States. In August 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on money laundering charges and sanctions violations.
Despite the legal challenges faced by the protocol’s creators, the crypto community continues to utilize Tornado Cash. Chris Blec, host of the Proof of Decentralization Podcast, highlighted the situation on Twitter:
“Alex Pertsev received a 5-year prison sentence but Tornado Cash is still operating and being used on Ethereum and there’s not much the government can do about that.”
Additionally, a recent report from the United Nations revealed that the North Korea-associated Lazarus Group leveraged the platform for illicit purposes. According to the report, the hacker group laundered $147.5 million through the crypto mixer in March 2024.
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