- A developer connected to the authorized Tornado Cash has been detained.
- FIOD began investigations in June, multiple arrests have not been ruled out.
- The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash on August 8.
According to a Fiscal Information and Investigation Service statement, a 29-year-old developer allegedly connected to the authorized Tornado Cash protocol was detained in Amsterdam on Friday (FIOD). Tornado Cash is an Ethereum-based crypto mixing service that allows users to gain a cloak of anonymity when transferring crypto assets. On Monday, the U.S. government sanctioned the service for assisting criminals in laundering stolen money.
FIOD began investigations in June, multiple arrests have not been ruled out. The investigation is being led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for serious fraud, environmental crime, and asset confiscation. According to the FACT, Tornado Cash has allegedly been used to conceal large-scale criminal money flows, including crypto hacks and scams.
“These included funds stolen through hacks by a group believed to be associated with North Korea. Tornado Cash started in 2019, and according to FACT it has since achieved a turnover of at least seven billion dollars,” the announcement notes.
The agency added that it is not excluding the possibility of making other arrests as part of the current probe. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash on August 8, which prompted intense criticism from the cryptocurrency community. The crypto mixer has been prohibited by a number of cryptocurrency companies, including Circle and dYdX.
Anthony Blinken, the secretary of state for the United States, has stated that the government will keep up its pressure on criminals using cryptocurrency mixers to launder money.
