Dutch Court Grants Conditional Release to Tornado Cash Co-founder

Alexey Pertsev, a co-founder of Tornado Cash currently serving a 64-month sentence in the Netherlands, has been granted a conditional release by a Dutch Judge after several attempts by his legal team.

In an X post on Thursday, Pertsev notified the crypto community that a Dutch court suspended his pretrial detention. The decision, however, comes with the stipulation of electronic monitoring.

Dear Friends, on Friday 7 February at 10 am I will be free! It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison. Today, a Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring. This will give me a chance to work on my appeal and fight for…

— Alexey Pertsev (@alex_pertsev) February 6, 2025

The conditional release, effective Friday, 7 February, at 10 a.m., allows Pertsev to work on his appeal while under surveillance rather than remain imprisoned. This partial relief enables him to fight for justice outside prison constraints.

Pertsev’s Legal Woes

Pertsev had been held in detention in the Netherlands since August 2022 before finally being slapped with a 64-month jail term in May 2024.

Prosecutors convicted him of money laundering charges related to Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer widely used by criminals to launder their illicit proceeds undetected. Between July 2019 and August 2022, Pertsev facilitated over $1.2 billion in illegal transactions through Tornado Cash, according to prosecutors.

While it wasn’t explicitly stated that he was directly involved in laundering these criminal proceeds, prosecutors said that he should have prevented the flow of transactions on mixing tools. Prosecutors said he “made a habit of committing money laundering” through Tornado Cash. 

However, the defense denied the claims, with Pertsev’s lawyers arguing that Tornado Cash was designed to enhance privacy and security in crypto transactions rather than facilitate criminal activities. Despite these arguments, he was sentenced to serve 64 months in a Dutch prison.

Similar Charges

Two other Tornado Cash founders, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, face similar money laundering charges in the United States. Storm was arrested in Washington state in August 2023, while Semenov remains at large. 

The crypto community will continue to monitor Pertsev’s case closely, as it could set a precedent for Storm, Semenov, and other cases related to the invention of privacy tools.