Developer of cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash accused of laundering $ 1.2 billion

The Dutch prosecutor’s office has accused one of the developers of the Tornado Cash mixer, Alexey Pertsev, of laundering $ 1.2 billion. DL News writes about this with reference to a court order. The documents state that Pertsev was involved in money laundering through the crypto mixer, which was obtained illegally.

The ruling mentions 36 suspicious transactions. One of them is labeled «Ronin cross-chain protocol». As a reminder, the platform was hacked for $ 625 million two years ago. Suspicion fell on the North Korean group Lazarus Group.

In turn, Pertsev’s lawyer, Kate Cheng, said that the prosecutor’s office did not provide any evidence of her client’s alleged connection to these transactions. The defense insists that the defendant cannot be held responsible for the activities on the platform, as he did not manage it.

According to reports, the hearing in Pertsev’s case will be held in the Netherlands on March 26.

As a reminder, the North Korean hacker group Lazarus has once again started using the sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash to cover up the traces of its transactions. Recently, the cybercriminals transferred $ 12 million worth of Ethereum via Tornado Cash.

Since 2022, the Tornado Cash platform has been under US sanctions for repeatedly helping cybercriminals launder their illicit funds. At that time, Lazarus Group switched to other cryptocurrency mixers, including Sinbad. However, in November 2023, the US Treasury Department blacklisted this service as well, prompting the hacker group to return to Tornado Cash.

The US authorities are still conducting a trial against the developers of the cryptomixer, Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. They are accused of conspiring to conduct unlicensed activities that facilitate money laundering through cryptocurrencies. Last year, Shtorm was released on bail, and Pertsev was placed under house arrest until the investigation is completed.