Dutch Prosecutors Seek 64-Month Jail for Tornado Cash Developer

Pertsev had been accused of laundering $1.2 billion worth of crypto through Tornado Cash.

During a two-day trial held in the ‘S-Hertogenbosch court on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dutch prosecutors asked the presiding judge to slap a 64-month jail term on Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev.

Prosecutors Accuse Pertsev of Money Laundering 

This request comes after federal prosecutors accused Pertsev of laundering $1.2 billion worth of crypto through Tornado Cash, a privacy mixing tool.

In an unsealed indictment released ahead of the trial, prosecutors alleged that between July 9, 2019, and August 10, 2022, Pertsev “made a habit of committing money laundering.”

In the document, prosecutors listed around 36 Illicit decentralized protocol transactions to Tornado Cash. Among these transactions is 175 ETH (worth $626,000 in current prices) laundered from the $625 million Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge exploit. Authorities identified North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the exploiter behind this heist.

Other illegal transactions on the mixer involved other exploited decentralized protocols like Harmony and Nomad Bridge.

Pertsev’s Defense Deny Allegations 

In response to these allegations, Pertsev’s defense Cheng had denied these allegations, stating that prosecutors have suspected his client of money laundering and they have “described it in a general way, but they don’t specify which exact acts he has committed to take part in the criminal offence.”

The verdict is expected to be delivered by the presiding judge on May 14, according to a CoinDesk report that cited court statements.

Pertsev was first arrested in the Netherlands in August 2022, a few days after the United States sanctioned Tornado Cash for helping criminals launder more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, including over $455 million stolen by the Lazarus Group.

A few months after his arrest, he was placed under house arrest based on certain conditions, including being monitored with a GPS tracker as well as being prohibited from leaving the country.

Two other Tornado Cash developers, Roman Storm, and Roman Semenov, also face separate money laundering allegations in the US.