Tornado Cash Developer Stays in Detention

Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev could be in custody until February after being detained in the Netherlands.

Before Advocate WK Cheng gave his first defence argument on 22 November, the prosecution provided a detailed summary of its research. It depicts Pertsev as a pivotal actor in the operation.

Defence view

Cheng outlined numerous use cases for Tornado Cash and common misunderstandings about its capabilities. "I am upset with the court's ruling. We've attempted to convey the defence's positions as plainly as possible," Cheng said after the preliminary hearing.

The attorney acknowledged that the first session had been rescheduled for 20 February, 2023, and reaffirmed his conviction that the state had provided a biased interpretation of Pertsev's connection with Tornado Cash.

Despite a slew of pledges from his defence team, including home surveillance and check-ins at the local police station each week, the prosecution expressed anxiety that Pertsev might flee if released before the first session. The attorney added that they would make some requests and investigations, and there are certain things they need to work out to be ready for the next court session.

Positive support for Pertsev

In a Tweet, crypto investor Ryan Adams stated that the Tornado Cash creator did something positive for the public by writing the code. The forum member said that "a few evil folks" opted to utilise Pertsev's code, and now the developer is paying the price.

Aside from Adams, crypto expert Jill Gunter said they hadn't released enough information on Pertsev's arrest. Gunter called the accusations' current position "confusing", describing the scenario as a "scary problem".

Protesters gathered in Amsterdam to demand the developer's release. Protesters chanted, "open source is not a crime", urging the authorities to apprehend the criminals rather than the creators.

On 12 August, the court detained the developer on allegations of money laundering using the Tornado mixer. Authorities in the Netherlands stated that the mixer was used to conceal large amounts of money from criminals and can link to crypto frauds and hacks.