The volume of deposits in the Tornado Cash cryptomixer, which is under OFAC sanctions, amounted to $1.85 billion in the first six months of 2024. For comparison, for the whole of 2023, this figure was $1.28 billion, according to Flipside Crypto.
Data: Flipside Crypto.The demand for the service has increased against the background of the continued sanctions of the US Treasury and lawsuits involving its founders.
In August 2022, OFAC blacklisted Tornado Cash for involvement in the laundering of criminal funds worth more than $7 billion. Over $455 million of them are related to the activities of the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.
https://forklog.com/news/otchet-kak-lazarus-group-otmyli-200-mln-ot-25-atak-na-kriptorynokOFAC sanctions involve blacklisting everyone who interacts with the service. Regulatory-compliant exchanges are prohibited from accepting deposits from such wallets. This is not an obstacle for intruders trying to transfer illegally obtained funds to fiat.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the hacker behind the $100 million hack of the Poloniex exchange has sent $76 million to the mixer since May. The deposits were also made by hackers associated with the HECO Bridge and Orbit Chain exploits ($166 million and $48 million, respectively).
Earlier, one of the confirmed addresses used in the hacking of WazirX for $234.9 million was replenished through a transfer from Tornado Cash.
In August 2022, Dutch law enforcement authorities arrested Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev on suspicion of involvement in money laundering and concealment of criminal financial flows through cryptomixer. In April 2023, the court changed the measure of restraint for him to house arrest.
On May 14, 2024, Pertsev was found guilty and sentenced to 64 months in prison. From that moment on, he was in custody. On July 12, the developer was refused bail pending appeal of the verdict in the case of laundering $ 1.2 billion.
Similar charges have also been filed against the co—founders of Tornado Cash, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov.
The first was released on bail, he refused to admit his guilt. The storm is awaiting trial in December. Semenov remained free, but was sanctioned.
Since January 2024, the co-founders of Tornado Cash have been raising $1.5 million for lawyers. The JusticeDAO Foundation has been established for these purposes.
The initiative was supported by former NSA and CIA officer Edward Snowden, as well as members of the crypto community.
Recall that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 30 ETH to the Pertsev and Storm Legal Defense Fund.
https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-tornado-cash-i-kak-on-rabotaet