Dutch authorities arrest developer for Tornado Cash

Dutch authorities arrested a 29-year-old man who was believed to be a developer for the Tornado Cash, a developer that was put on the United States' sanctions list this week.

The U.S. sanctions on Monday followed allegations that Tornado Cash was helping hide billions of capital flows, including North Korean hackers.

By mixing cryptocurrencies, the online service makes it possible to hide the origin or destination of digital payments, as well as increase their anonymity.

Tornado Cash is one of the biggest criptocurrency blenders identified as problematic by the U.S. Treasury.

The Dutch public prosecutor's office for serious fraud, environmental crime and asset confiscation FIOD said Tornado was suspected of having laundered more than $7 billion of virtual currency since it was created in 2019.

Tornado Cash did not reply to a request for comment.

The man, who was not identified, was arrested on Wednesday in Amsterdam. He is believed to have helped facilitate criminal transactions, including funds stolen through hacks by a group believed to be associated with North Korea. He faces money laundering charges.

In June, the Financial Advanced Cyber Team division of the FIOD started an investigation into Tornado Cash, the statement said. It found that Tornado Cash had been used to conceal large-scale criminal money flows, including online thefts of cryptocurrencies.

Further arrests have not been ruled out, prosecutors said.

The move frozes any U.S. assets of the mixer and prevents Americans from dealing with it.