Alexey Pertsev Released to House Arrest After Nine Months in Dutch Custody

In a significant development for the cryptocurrency community, Alexey Pertsev, the 31-year-old developer of Tornado Cash, has been released from detention following a court decision. However, his legal troubles remain far from over, as the developer faces a 64-month prison sentence that continues to loom over the case. Rather than returning to full freedom, Pertsev has been placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring as a condition of his release pending trial.

The Detention and Release of Alexey Pertsev

Pertsev’s case began when he was arrested in May 2024 after being convicted of facilitating money laundering operations involving over $1 billion in cryptocurrency. His nine-month detention in a Dutch correctional facility came to an end when the court conditionally released him to house arrest. The decision marks a turning point in the case, granting the developer temporary liberty while maintaining strict surveillance measures. Under the terms of his release, Alexey Pertsev must remain confined to his residence and comply with electronic monitoring protocols.

Tornado Cash: The Mixer That Sparked International Legal Action

Tornado Cash functions as a privacy tool for Ethereum transactions, enabling users to obscure the origin of their funds by pooling and mixing cryptocurrency from multiple senders. The platform gained notoriety in 2022 when the Lazarus Group, a sophisticated North Korean cybercriminal operation, exploited it to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen assets. This misuse prompted the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to impose sanctions against the platform, though these restrictions were subsequently deemed unlawful by the court.

Despite the legal challenges to the sanctions themselves, both Pertsev and his co-developers faced criminal charges in connection with their work on the mixer.

The Broader Implications: Co-developers Face Mounting Pressure

Alexey Pertsev’s co-developers are experiencing far more severe legal consequences. Roman Storm, another key figure in Tornado Cash development, faces trial in April 2025 with potential exposure to a 45-year prison sentence in the most severe scenario. Meanwhile, Roman Semenov, the third major developer, has evaded authorities and remains the subject of an active FBI manhunt. These parallel prosecutions illustrate the intensifying regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency privacy tools perceived as facilitating illicit financial flows.