Co-founder of crypto blender Tornado Cash sentenced to 5 years in prison

One of the main developers of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsevwas sentenced to a sentence of 64 months in prison for money laundering.

Arrested in 2022 in the Netherlands following the US offensive against Tornado Cash and convicted of money laundering earlier this year, Alexey Pertsev was finally sentenced this Tuesday to 64 months’ imprisonment, just over 5 years, by a Dutch court.

Pertsev, a 31-year-old Russian national living in the Netherlands, was accused of laundering $2.2 billion in illicit assets through Tornado Cash.

Crypto mixers enable transactions to be mixed in order to obscure the provenance of funds. Shortly before his arrest, the Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash.

At his trial last March, prosecutors argued that the protocol developer had failed to take the necessary steps to prevent criminals from using Tornado Cash.

Tornado Cash, by its very nature and operation, is a tool for criminals,” said a Dutch court judge.

Roman Storm, another Tornado Cash co-founder, meanwhile faces charges in the US of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter and conspiracy to violate US sanctions laws. His trial is scheduled for next September.

Despite the support of giants such as Coinbase, the US justice system refuses to revisit the crypto mixer’s conviction. It has ruled out any review of sanctions against wallets and related smart contracts.

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