Dutch Court Sentences Tornado Cash Co-Founder to Over 5 Years for Money Laundering

A court in the Netherlands sentenced co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertcev, to five years and four months in prison on charges of money laundering — a sentence the prosecution had requested. According to Dutch law, the maximum penalty for this crime is eight years. "Tornado Cash, by its very nature and operation, is a tool designed for criminals," stated the judge. The defense has two weeks to appeal the verdict. Dutch prosecutors report that between 2019 and 2022, at least $2.3 billion was laundered through Tornado Cash, accounting for over 30% of the service's total transaction volume. Tornado Cash, which Pertcev helped create, obscures user funds by mixing them to reduce the traceability of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. In 2020, Pertcev proposed to fellow co-founders a standard response for victims of scams seeking help from Tornado Cash to recover stolen assets.