Alexey Pertsev, a developer of Tornado Cash, is getting ready to appeal his money laundering conviction in the Netherlands. The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has donated $1.25 million to help with his legal defense support.
The EF announced the donation on February 26 in an X post and stated that “privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.”
Source: Alexey Pertsev
Later, Pertsev went to social media on X to post about the EF’s announcement, thanking them for the donation for his Netherlands legal defense of the case.
“Thank you very much. I am quite happy that I can now totally concentrate on getting ready for my appeal. For me, this means the world.
Pertsev Released from Custody in Early February
The donation came after a few weeks after Pertsev left prison custody in early February. This was part of his pretrial release.
The release marked a major development in the ongoing legal battle related to Pertsevs involvement at the famous Tornado Cash after he was arrested by the Dutch authorities in August 2022.
Pertsev is a Russian national but lives in the Netherlands. In May 2024, a Dutch court found him guilty of money laundering. The court gave him a five-year and four-month prison sentence.
