Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) has arrested a 29-year-old unnamed man, who is believed to be a developer of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service sanctioned by the US.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to get daily short digests about events that shape the crypto world
The regulator said in a press release that the detainee is suspected of involvement in "concealing criminal financial flows and facilitating money laundering through the mixing of cryptocurrencies" with Tornado Cash. The FIOD noted that multiple arrests are still not ruled out. The agency said:
"These advanced technologies, such as decentralised organisations that may facilitate money laundering are receiving extra attention from the FIOD."
According to reports, the detainee is Russian IT specialist Alexey Pertsev. The move comes just a few days after the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash for laundering over $7 billion worth of crypto since 2019.
The regulator said that the smart contract helped North Korean hackers Lazarus Group launder $455 million of stolen crypto. Moreover, Tornado Cash reportedly helped launder over $96 million from the Harmony bridge heist as well as $7.8 million from the Nomad bridge hack.
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange