TLDR
- Alexey Pertsev, Tornado Cash developer, was denied bail while preparing his appeal for money laundering charges.
- Pertsev was found guilty in May and sentenced to 64 months in prison for his role in Tornado Cash.
- His lawyers argue that pre-trial detention is unacceptable and that Pertsev needs computer access to prepare his defense.
- The court and prison denied Pertsev’s requests for computer and internet access, citing safety protocols.
- This case raises questions about when software developers can be held responsible for how others use their code.
Alexey Pertsev, the developer behind the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, remains in custody as he prepares to appeal his conviction for money laundering.
A Dutch court recently denied Pertsev’s request for bail, marking the third time such a request has been rejected.
Pertsev, a 31-year-old Russian developer, was arrested in Amsterdam in August 2022. He was accused of using Tornado Cash, a service on the Ethereum blockchain, to hide illegal funds and help with money laundering.
In May 2023, a judge at the Court of Appeal in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, found Pertsev guilty and sentenced him to 64 months in prison.
The case has drawn attention because it deals with a new area of law: when can a software developer be held responsible for how others use their code? Tornado Cash is a decentralized application that mixes cryptocurrency transactions to make them harder to trace.
While this can be used for privacy, it can also be used to hide the source of stolen or illegal funds.
Pertsev’s defense lawyers, Keith Cheng and Judith de Boer, argue that their client should be released while preparing his appeal.
They say he is not likely to run away and needs access to a computer and the internet to work on his case. De Boer stated, “In a case involving such fundamental legal questions, pre-trial detention is unacceptable.”
Alexey will spend the next year in jail while his legal team prepares for the appeal hearing.
This is a gross miscarriage of justice. Developers do not belong in jail for the actions of third parties.
Please consider donating to Alexey's defense. Link in the next post. https://t.co/kWHwODzygX
— Free Pertsev & Storm (@FreeAlexeyRoman) July 12, 2024
However, the court disagreed. It said that keeping Pertsev in jail would not stop him from preparing his defense. The court also turned down a request for Pertsev to have a computer in prison, saying it would go against safety rules.
Cheng expressed surprise at these decisions. He had asked the prison for “digital facilities,” including a good computer, unlimited internet access, special software, and the ability to use external data storage. But the prison said no, citing safety concerns.
The case against Pertsev claims that Tornado Cash was used to launder about $1.2 billion worth of illegal assets. Prosecutors argued that Pertsev played a central role in how Tornado Cash worked. But Pertsev’s team says he shouldn’t be blamed for how other people used the software he helped create.
This case is being watched closely by many in the cryptocurrency world. Some worry that it could set a precedent that makes developers afraid to work on privacy-focused projects.
An account linked to JusticeDAO, a group raising money for the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers, called the ruling a “gross miscarriage of justice.”
The U.S. government has also taken action against Tornado Cash. In 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) put sanctions on the service, making it illegal for U.S. citizens to use it.
As Pertsev prepares his appeal from jail, his case continues to raise important questions. How much responsibility do software developers have for how their code is used? Where is the line between protecting privacy and enabling crime? The answers to these questions could have big effects on the future of cryptocurrency and software development.
