Alexey Pertsev, the developer of the cryptocurrency mixing protocol Tornado Cash, has been found guilty of money laundering, raising potentially severe implications for open-source code developers.
Pertsev was found guilty of money laundering by Dutch judges at 's-Hertogenbosch court on May 14. The developer was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, for allegedly laundering $1.2 billion worth of illicit assets on the platform.
The sentencing came despite Tornado Cash being a non-custodial crypto mixing protocol — meaning that the funds that go through the protocol are never held or controlled by it.
Despite having no control over the funds, the developer was found guilty after first being jailed in the Netherlands in August 2022, shortly after Tornado Cash was blacklisted by the U.S. government.
Pertsev's legal representatives will have 14 days to appeal the court ruling.
Related: Crypto mixing is ‘not a crime,’ says CryptoQuant CEO
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
