Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev is in a tough spot. He’s asking for more financial support to keep fighting a legal battle that’s dragging him through hell.
Arrested two years ago, Alexey is now struggling against well-funded government forces that want to take him down for good. The stakes? Privacy rights and the freedom to write and publish open-source code.
Alexey’s backers have been loud. The support account for Alexey and Roman Storm, another open-source developer, said:
“We’re grateful for the support so far, but we still need more help. If you can, please consider donating to Alexey’s cause and spread the word. Open-source is not a crime.”
That’s the rallying cry as Alexey sits behind bars in the Netherlands, convicted of money laundering.
Tornado Cash and the road to conviction
In May, the Dutch court threw the book at Alexey, sentencing him to 64 months in prison.
The charge was laundering a mind-boggling $1.2 billion through Tornado Cash, a service that lets users mix their cryptocurrency to hide where it’s coming from.
The court said Alexey knew full well that Tornado could be used for shady business, including laundering money for notorious groups like North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
They even tied Tornado Cash to the $625 million Axie Infinity hack. Alexey’s downfall started when the U.S. Treasury slapped sanctions on Tornado Cash back in August 2022. The service got hit with claims that it was a favorite tool for money launderers.
Not long after, Alexey was nabbed, kicking off a legal battle that’s still going strong.
The case has raised big questions about whether developers should be held responsible when their open-source software gets used for illegal activities.
Alexey’s attorney Keith Cheng is pushing for his release from pre-trial detention, arguing that he can’t properly prepare for his appeal behind bars.
Keith added that keeping Alexey locked up violates his right to a fair trial, because he needs digital resources and expert consultations that just aren’t available in prison.
A court hearing was recently held to decide if Alexey should be released, but the judges didn’t make a call yet.