Summary:
- Alex Pertsev published on Twitter for the first time in over nine months after Dutch authorities arrested him for facilitating money laundering through crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
- Pertsev was released on home arrest last week pending an investigative hearing on May 24.
- “Sorry I was afk for a while, what did I miss?”, he tweeted after spending months in prison in the Netherlands.
Blockchain developer Alex Pertsev published on Twitter for the first time in over nine months after Dutch authorities arrested him in August.
“Sorry I was afk for a while, what did I miss?”, Pertsev wrote today.
Tornado Cash Developer Arrested
The Dutch financial crime authority (FIOD) issued arrest orders on the suspicion that Pertsev laundered more than 500,000 ETH through sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash. At current prices, Dutch prosecutors claimed Pertsev laundered nearly a billion dollars in crypto, per details of his arrest in August 2020.
Pertsev remained in Dutch detention as a judge denied him bail on at least one occasion. Prosecutors argued that the Tornado Cash developer had access to caches of digital assets and posed a flight risk. The court was also told that Pertsev could destroy evidence if released.
Pertsev Free On House Arrest Pending Trial
Last week, a Dutch court ordered his release until an investigative hearing scheduled for May 24. Pertsev will have to wear an ankle monitor and cannot leave the property. Dutch authorities also installed surveillance systems to keep an eye on Pertsev until the trial.
His lawyers said more effort will go into defense after a Dutch judge previously turned down motions for his early release. The arrest and delayed release was followed by criticism from the crypto community over whether open-source coding should attract criminal investigations.
War On Crypto Mixers
Global regulators have seemingly gone after crypto mixers that allow users to obfuscate the origin of their transactions. Apart from sanctions against Tornado Cash, law enforcement also seized $46 million from crypto tumbler ChipMixer.