A Dutch court found Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev guilty of laundering $1.2 billion.
Prosecutor Martin Burlage said the idea that Tornado Cash operated without management was false.
“Tornado Cash is more than just smart contracts,” Burlage argued in court. “It was run like a company.”
The facility was used to launder more than $7 billion in cryptocurrency from hacks and robberies, according to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.
According to authorities, the main criminals abusing the protocol are the North Korean cybercrime organization Lazarus Group.
The panel sentenced Pertsev, a 31-year-old Russian citizen living in the Netherlands, to five years and four months in prison, as requested by prosecutors.
“Tornado Cash, by its nature and operation, is a tool designed for criminals,” said the judge sitting in the courtroom.
