The identity had earlier been pointed out by a Twitter user who was following the case closely. The Twitter user also claimed to have 3 confirmations for the same.
The software developer arrested in Amsterdam over involvement in laundering money through Tornado Cash is Alexey Pertsev. His wife also confirmed Pertsev being arrested by the Dutch authorities, emphasizing her husband didn’t do anything illegal.
However, the investigation claims Pertsev is suspected of involvement in concealing criminal financial flows and facilitating money laundering via Tornado Cash. Though his wife Ksenia Malik confirms Alexey Pertsev being arrested, a spokesperson for FIOD declined to comment on the arrested person’s identity.
Tornado Cash is a crypto mixer that allows users to obscure blockchain-based transactions. According to FIOD, cryptocurrency with criminal origins worth at least $1 billion went via the mixer. It is believed that those in charge of this group profit illegally from these transactions.
The Twitter community is lashing out at the move to arrest Pertsev while several industry executives reacted shockingly to the incident. “They put a man in jail because bad people used his open source code. This cannot stand in any free society.”
Recently, even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted the good aspect of mixer saying he used Tornado Cash for Ukraine donations. Considering the example of the Russian government tracking all actions, such decentralized networks are needed.
Yet, there are two facets to every coin. Tornado Cash sanction and the recent investigation pose so many questions such as why the mixer has failed to impose effective controls designed to bar it from laundering funds.
At present, the investigation is still in process and Alexey Pertsev’s wife is working with lawyers. Tornado Cash is facing severe consequences as several other platforms are cutting ties with the mixer following the sanctions. On the other hand, an ongoing investigation is meddling with Tornado Cash’s market reputation.
