- Alexey Pertsev has been freed under electronic watch
- Pertsev was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for money laundering
- The developer has been in jail since 2022
Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has been released from custody following a ruling that favored electronic surveillance over continued pretrial detention.
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Pertsev, who was released on February 7 at 10 am, was charged with money laundering and linked to the US Treasury’s sanctions against Tornado Cash. According to the US government, the protocol was allegedly involved in illicit financing.
Pertsev was found guilty of money laundering in 2024 and has been detained since August 2022.
Notably, Pertsev’s release comes nearly a month after the Texas court overturned sanctions on Tornado Cash.
Pertsev expressed his gratitude for this opportunity, taking to X to say, “Dear Friends, on Friday 7 February at 10 am I will be free! It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison.”
He further noted that this development would give him “a chance to work on my appeal and fight for justice.”
Dear Friends, on Friday 7 February at 10 am I will be free! It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison. Today, a Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring. This will give me a chance to work on my appeal and fight for…
— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) February 6, 2025
Alexey Pertsev’s woes
Pertsev’s case has been under the international spotlight since 2022. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash, accusing the platform and its developers of facilitating money laundering.
Despite these allegations, Pertsev and his legal team have contested the charges, arguing that developers should not be held accountable for how their open-source software is used by others. This argument resonates with many in the cryptocurrency community who advocate for the separation of developers’ liability from the actions of users.
Previously, the Dutch court countered Pertsev’s defence, stating that Pertsev and his co-founders at Tornado Cash did not take adequate measures to prevent misuse by criminal entities, including the notorious North Korean cybercrime group, Lazarus. The court went ahead and sentenced Pertsev to five years and four months in prison for money laundering, a ruling which his lawyers immediately appealed.
Pertsev had applied for bail multiple times without success, with the prosecution labelling him as a “flight risk.”
Therefore, the court’s decision to allow electronic monitoring represents a shift in perspective, possibly acknowledging the complexities involved in prosecuting tech developers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
As Pertsev now focuses on his appeal, the crypto community and legal observers watch closely, recognizing this case’s potential to influence future legal interpretations of developer accountability in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
