Alexei Pertsev’s wife denies his cooperation with the Russian FSB

The wife of Alexei Pertsev, the developer of Tornado Cash who was arrested in Amsterdam, has rejected speculation that her husband had ties to Russian special services. Ksenia Malik denied the claims made in the Kharon blog by financial crime analysts that Pertsev allegedly worked for a company that the US government linked to the Russian FSB.

«Alexey has never been associated with the FSB of the Russian Federation and similar organizations,» Malik said. «We moved to the Netherlands in the hope of a peaceful, stable and free life, which is impossible to imagine in military Russia.»

Pertsev’s arrest on August 10, just two days after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, sparked outrage among the programmer, developer, and cryptocurrency enthusiast community. Industry professionals began to worry that they could be held accountable for any open source software they develop.

As a reminder, on Wednesday, August 24, law enforcement agencies decided to keep Pertsev in custody for another three months pending trial. We would like to add that the Tornado Cash developer has not yet been formally charged.