May 15, 2024 at 09:08AM
Alexey Pertsev, a main developer of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency tumbler, has been sentenced to 64 months in prison for his involvement in laundering over $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency. The platform, used by cybercriminals, was sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury. With the fate of the project uncertain, its online presence is affected by OFAC sanctions.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes:
– Alexey Pertsev, a main developer of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency tumbler, has been sentenced to 64 months in prison for his involvement in laundering over $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency.
– Tornado Cash is an open-source cryptocurrency mixer designed to provide anonymity to crypto holders, but it was used by cybercriminals, including the Lazarus hacking group, to launder money from illegal activities.
– The U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned the platform in August 2022, and the U.S. Department of Justice charged two founders in 2023 with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violation of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act.
– Alexey Pertsev was actively involved in the Tornado Cash project between July 2019 and August 2022, and his claims of intending to provide privacy for the crypto community were rejected by the court.
– Between $1.2 and $2.2 billion from at least 36 distinct hacks have been laundered via Tornado Cash, concealing perpetrators’ identities from law enforcement.
– Authorities confiscated 1.9 million Euros worth of cryptocurrency and a Porsche from Pertsev.
– With all three leading developers arrested and charged, the fate of the Tornado Cash project is uncertain. The project’s main sites and GitHub page remain online, but community pages on social media have been terminated, Binance accounts suspended, and most RPC endpoints have blocked transactions due to the OFAC sanctions.