Dutch authorities have granted the release of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev from prison after suspending his pretrial detention. A court ruling on Feb. 6 allows Pertsev to leave custody under electronic monitoring as he prepares to appeal his money laundering conviction.‍

Conditional Release Ahead of Appeal

Pertsev, who has been in detention in the Netherlands since August 2022, announced his release on social media, stating, "On Friday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. I will be free! It is not real freedom, but it is better than prison. Today, a Dutch court suspended my pretrial detention under the condition of electronic monitoring. This will give me a chance to work on my appeal and fight for justice."

The Dutch court found Pertsev guilty of money laundering on May 14, 2024, sentencing him to five years and four months in prison. 

Prosecutors alleged that he and other Tornado Cash co-founders failed to implement adequate safeguards to prevent illicit financial activity on the platform. However, Pertsev has maintained that he cannot be held accountable for the actions of users who employed the Tornado Cash protocol for illegal purposes.‍

Legal Challenges for Tornado Cash Developers

Tornado Cash, a decentralized privacy protocol for cryptocurrency transactions, has faced increasing legal scrutiny. In August 2023, US authorities charged Roman Storm and fellow co-founder Roman Semenov with laundering over $1 billion in crypto through the platform. Semenov remains at large and is currently on the FBI’s most wanted list, while Storm was released on a $2 million bond and is set to stand trial in April 2025.

Storm has publicly defended his role, arguing that his prosecution is an attempt to criminalize software development. "I am being prosecuted for writing open-source code that enables private crypto transactions in a completely non-custodial manner. This prosecution represents a terrifying criminalization of privacy," he stated.

The legal actions against Tornado Cash developers have raised concerns within the crypto and software development communities. 

Storm has cited conflicting interpretations of financial regulations and fears among developers about potential legal repercussions for creating privacy-focused tools. Multiple organizations, including the DeFi Education Fund, Coin Center, and the Blockchain Association, have filed amicus briefs in support of Storm’s defense.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) initially sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, but a U.S. court ruled in January 2024 that the sanctions were unlawful. However, the Department of Justice has dismissed the ruling as irrelevant.