Alexey Pertsev, a developer behind the privacy platform Tornado Cash, has announced that he will be released from prison on February 7 after a Dutch court decided to cancel his pretrial detention. Instead, Pertsev will be subject to electronic monitoring.
In a post on X, Pertsev shared that his release is scheduled for 9 am UTC (10 am local time) on February 7, following the recent court decision that allows him to undergo electronic monitoring while he continues to prepare his appeal. Pertsev has been held in detention in the Netherlands since August 2022 after Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over allegations of money laundering and facilitating illicit finance activities.
While Pertsev is grateful for the decision, he acknowledged that his release does not mean full freedom. “This will give me a chance to work on my appeal and fight for justice,” Pertsev wrote. “Thank you to everyone who supported me and made this possible!”
Pertsev faces charges of money laundering, which were brought against him in May 2024. His legal team is actively working on an appeal.
Although Pertsev’s initial requests for bail were denied—first in July 2024 and then again in November 2023—the court ruling marks a significant shift in his legal battle. In those previous hearings, the court had deemed Pertsev a “flight risk” and rejected his plea for release under surveillance.
During the trial, Pertsev’s defense team argued that developers should not be held responsible for building smart contract protocols, particularly when these tools are accessible to anyone. This perspective aligns with the broader stance taken by many in the crypto industry. However, the court countered the defense, stating that Pertsev and his co-founders had not implemented sufficient safeguards to prevent misuse of the Tornado Cash platform, which was allegedly used by criminal entities, including the North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus.
In August 2023, U.S. authorities indicted Pertsev and the co-founders of Tornado Cash, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, on conspiracy and illegal money-transferring charges. They are accused of laundering over $1 billion in illicit funds.
While Pertsev’s legal team continues to challenge the charges, the recent court ruling offers him a glimmer of hope as he continues to fight for his case.
