Alexey Pertsev, the developer behind the OFAC-sanctioned crypto mixer Twister Money has been denied bail whereas his attorneys put together to submit an attraction for fees of cash laundering.
Pertsev’s protection lawyer, Keith Cheng, told DL Information the rejection of Pertsev’s bail request got here as a shock, noting that a further request for Pertsev to achieve entry to a pc to arrange for his attraction was additionally denied.
The courtroom mentioned Pertsev’s continued detention wouldn’t hinder his means to arrange his protection, including that Pertsev’s request for pc entry went
Pertsev’s lawyer didn’t agree with the courtroom’s resolution, saying that pre-trial detention in a case involving basic authorized questions is “unacceptable.”
“This unprecedented case addresses when a software program developer might be criminally responsible for third-party misuse,” added Pertsev’s lawyer Judith de Boer.
Pertsev was found guilty of money laundering within the s-Hertogenbosch Court docket of Attraction within the Netherlands on Could 14.
The developer was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in jail for allegedly laundering $1.2 billion value of illicit property on the platform.
The July 13 resolution marks the third time Pertsev’s request for bail has been denied.
Earlier, in November, a Dutch courtroom denied the developer’s plea to be released under surveillance based mostly on the prosecution’s argument that Pertsev posed a flight danger.
The prosecution argued that Pertsev acted as a central determine in Twister Money’s operation. The developer’s bail was denied once more in February.
An X account affiliated with JusticeDAO, the group that offers with elevating funds for the authorized protection of the Twister Money builders mentioned the ruling was a “gross miscarriage of justice” in a July 12 post to X
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“Alexey will spend the subsequent yr in jail whereas his authorized crew prepares for the attraction listening to. This can be a gross miscarriage of justice. Builders don’t belong in jail for the actions of third events,” wrote the account.
Throughout his March trial, Pertsev argued that he could not be held liable for the actions of those that used the Twister Money protocol for nefarious or unlawful functions.
The courtroom rejected this argument, saying that if Pertsev and the 2 different co-founders of Twister Money had really wished to forestall criminals from abusing the protocol, they might’ve taken additional measures with their protocol to make sure this didn’t happen.
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