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On Friday, the Dutch authorities arrested a 29-year-old developer who allegedly laundered billions on Tornado Cash. Tornado Cash is a mixing service for cryptocurrencies. The online service successfully hides the destination or origin of cryptocurrencies. The crypto-mixing service provider helps in increasing the anonymity of the digital payments. Launched in 2019, Tornado Cash was successful in achieving a turnover of at least seven billion dollars, according to FACT.
This week, the United States had put hold on its sanctions.The sanctions of the U.S came on Monday after Tornado Cash was accused of concealing billions in capital flows. The site is even believed to hide transactions from North Korean Hackers. The U.S Treasury believes Tornado Cash to be one of the largest crypto blenders.
Commenting on the U.S putting sanctions on Tornado Cash, Coin Center, a crypto advocacy group, said the US government was unfairly targeting the tool. Coin Center pointed out that just like any other tool, Tornado cash can be used for both good and bad.
Tornado is suspected to wash off cryptocurrencies worth $7 billion since its inception in 2019, stated the Dutch public prosecutor’s office for serious fraud, environmental crime and asset confiscation (FIOD). The FIOD, also in the domain of cryptocurrencies, is responsible for ensuring a safe financial Netherlands and investigates with impact and effect.
The FIOD further stated that the developer, who is a man, was arrested in Amsterdam on Wednesday. He is also suspected of helping funds stolen by a hackers group supposedly based in North Korea. Laundering charges are levied on him.
The official statement also noted that the division of the FIOD, Financial Advanced Cyber Team, began a criminal investigation into Tornado Cash in June. Tornado Cash was also used in concealing large-scale criminal money flows, among them are cryptocurrencies online thefts. As per the investigations, the people behind the organizations have earned large-scale profits from these transactions. Prosecutors said that the multiple arrests were not ruled out.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
