The Block: Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev freed pending trial

Alexey Pertsev, a Tornado Cash developer arrested in August by Dutch authorities over allegations of facilitating money laundering, will head home next week pending trial, a court in the Netherlands has ruled.

"I’m happy to confirm Alex will be at home on April 26 on his birthday," Pertsev's wife Ksenia Malik told The Block. "He will be with an ankle monitor. But at home."

Pertsev, who was born in Russia, was arrested in Amsterdam on Aug. 10. His arrest came two days after the U.S. government added Tornado Cash and 44 associated Ethereum and USDC wallets to its Specially Designated Nationals list. The U.S. Treasury said the crypto mixing service, which allows users to obscure transactions, had "repeatedly failed to impose effective controls designed to stop it from laundering funds for malicious cyber actors."

He has denied the charges against him.

Pertsev kept in jail Before today, the software developer had faced repeated denials of release as Dutch judges expressed concern about the risk of him fleeing or tampering with evidence if allowed out.

Pertsev’s arrest had been the subject of protests from Edward Snowden and the local crypto community, while the U.S. sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash have been criticized by privacy and crypto advocates.

A further investigation hearing in the case will be held on May 24, Malik said.

Update: story updated with prior refusals of release.

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