Tornado Cash Developer set to face trial under surveillance

Tornado Cash’s developer is reportedly set to be released amid his ongoing trial. Alex Pertsev, who was a developer for Tornado Cash, was detained following the legal sanctions the firm faced.

Earlier, Dutch authorities had detained Alexey, which raised widespread concern within the community of cryptocurrency users. The basis for the allegation was that he was involved in the laundering of funds through the use of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash. 

Few in the crypto community thought that he had been targeted because of his involvement in the Tornado Cash project. His detention had occurred before the reasons for his detention were clear.

Shortly after the United States Treasury Department added hundreds of Tornado Cash addresses to the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctions list on August 8, Pertsev was taken into custody. This occurred on the same day. 

As part of the terms of his conditional release, Alexey would have to wear an ankle monitor at all times and would be under surveillance. He has been denied bail twice.

Earlier, in November 2022, a Dutch judge rejected the developer’s request to be released under monitoring on the grounds that Pertsev constituted a flight risk. This was in response to the argument made by the prosecution that the request should be denied. 

The prosecution contends that Pertsev played a key role in Tornado Cash’s operation and that he should be held accountable for his actions. In February, the bail application submitted by the developer was rejected once more.

Platforms like Tornado Cash, which are referred to as crypto mixers, frequently mix several cryptocurrency transactions into a single one and then send the combined transaction to a variety of wallet addresses.

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