Netherlands arrests suspected Tornado Cash developer News โธ Netherlands โธ Legal
Netherlands arrests suspected Tornado Cash developer
The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service revealed that it started a criminal investigation into Tornado Cash in June because it suspected that the protocol was being used for illegal activities.
1 min read
Updated: Aug. 13, 2022 at 12:43 am UTC
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Dutch authorities arrested an unnamed 29-year-old man suspected to be a Tornado Cash developer in Amsterdam on August 10.
According to a press statement issued by the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service on August 12, the man is “suspected of involvement in concealing criminal financial flows and facilitating money laundering through the mixing of cryptocurrencies through the decentralized Ethereum mixing service, Tornado Cash.”
The crime agency revealed that it started a criminal investigation into Tornado Cash in June because it suspected that the protocol was being “used to conceal large-scale criminal money flows, including from (online) thefts of cryptocurrencies (so-called crypto hacks and scams).”
Additionally, the agency stated that it is not ruling out further arrests in the protocol investigation.
Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury on August 8, leading to widespread condemnation from the crypto community. Several crypto firms like Circleย and dYdX have blocked users using the crypto mixer.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that the government would continue to clamp down on the use of crypto mixers that are being used by criminals to launder funds.
CryptoSlate will report more details as the news develops.
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Posted In: Netherlands, Legal
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Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
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Tornado Cash is a decentralized, non-custodial privacy solution built on Ethereum.
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Circle Internet Financial Ltd is a global internet finance company, built on blockchain technology and powered by crypto assets.