Tornado Cash dev Alex Pertsev set to be released from prison under surveillance

The Tornado Cash developer was arrested in August 2022 by Dutch authorities as part of a criminal investigation against the crypto mixer service.

Tornado Cash developer Alex Pertsev is set to be released from jail after spending nearly nine months in prison. Pertsev was arrested in August last year by Dutch authorities on suspicion of being involved in money laundering through the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash.

Cointelegraph confirmed the news with the people familiar with the matter, and Pertsev is all set to be back home by April 26, which also happens to be his birthday. The suspended release under surveillance means the jailed Tornado cash developer can Jail can await trial from home.

Pertsev was arrested shortly after the United States Treasury Department placed dozens of Tornado Cash addresses on the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctions list on Aug. 8. 

The suspended release would see Pertsev put under supervision with an ankle monitor, according to Pertsev’s wife who talked to Cointelegraph and expressed her happiness on the verdict:

“I believe that now we will be able to fully prepare the defense and prove that Alex did not do anything that he is accused of, and I am very sorry for the wasted time that he spent in prison. It had a powerful effect on him and on me, it cardinally changed our lives. But the main thing is that he will be free soon.”

Earlier in November 2022, a Dutch court denied the developer’s plea to be released under surveillance based on the prosecution’s argument that Pertsev pose a flight risk. The prosecution has argued that  Pertsev acted as a central figure in Tornado Cash’s operation. The developer’s bail was denied again in February earlier this year.

UPDATE: Alexey Pertsev, Tornado Cash Dev, bail denied again. His next hearing is in April.

**Alexey Pertsev is being held without charge, has a family, and simply wrote code.

**meanwhile @SBF_FTX is at home using VPN’s and playing video games.

— Andrew (@AP_Abacus) February 17, 2023

Crypto mixers or mixing services are platforms that are often used to obfuscate the origin of crypto transactions. The aim of these mixers is to make transactions anonymous and difficult to trace. These platforms often mix one cryptocurrency transaction with others and send them to different wallet addresses. Tornado Cash was one of the most popular mixing services before sanctions.

The news about Pertsev’s release under surveillance was met with rejoicing in the crypto community. Crypto educator and founder of Crypto Canal, who attended the hearing said that the most important thing is that “he can walk around and work on his defence, something that was virtually impossible while detained.”