Netherlands Arrests Suspected Tornado Cash Developer
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Main page News, US, Smart contracts, Money Laundering, Regulations

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.

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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.

Tornado Cash User Sends ETH to Addresses of Crypto Industry Representatives

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.

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