The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) added Tornado Cash to the US sanctions list on August 8. Two days later, Dutch authorities apprehended Alexey Pertsev, a programmer for the crypto mixing service.
Privacy advocates were outraged by the blacklisting and what followed. The arrest resulted in violent protests and the disturbance of civil order.
According to the intelligence agency, Kharon, Pertsev previously worked for a firm associated with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
According to the report,
“The individual, identified by various media reports as a developer of Tornado Cash, is a former employee of a Russian company sanctioned for providing support to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Kharon has found.”
According to the Kharon report, Pertsev founded and served as CEO of PepperSec, a Delaware-registered organization that created Tornado Cash. Pertsev was born in the Netherlands and worked for Digital Security OOO as a smart contract developer and an information security expert.
In a press release dated June 11, 2018, the US Treasury Department criticized the Russian firm Digital Security for providing the FSB with money and technology.
According to the Treasury, as of 2015, Digital Security was working on a project to provide Russian intelligence services with more offensive cyber capabilities.
Strong protests followed the unprecedented action by the Treasury Department, with many declaring they would file a lawsuit to challenge the decision. The opposition has highlighted the contradictions with the act, despite platforms such as Circle and dYdX acting in accordance with the sanctions. Johns Hopkins University researchers asserted that OFAC’s order is not clear.
For instance, Pertsev is still not officially accused of a crime. However, his request for bail was turned down. A Dutch judge ordered that the programmer spend the next 90 days behind bars before his trial. An online petition calling for Pertsev’s release has also gained significant traction, with over 2,700 signatories.
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