Ksenia Malik spoke with Cointelegraph and stated that Dutch authorities treat her husband like a “dangerous criminal”, and that open-source software creation should not be considered criminal.
Ksenia Malik is the wife of Tornado Cash creator AlexeyPertsev and has slammed Dutch authorities for treating her husband as a “dangerous criminal” after his arrest last week.
Pertsev was arrested by the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service on August 12 for allegedly using an Ethereum-based privacy tool in order to conceal criminal financial flows and launder money.
Cointelegraph spoke to Malik, who confirmed Pertsev is still in the Dutch hands and that he has not been able to contact him since his release.
Malik stated that Pertsev is being held in prison “as if he were dangerous criminal”, as she expressed concern at Pertsev’s arrest without warning for what she considers a harmless act.
“It’s very surprising to me that someone can be arrested for writing open-source code.”
Malik stated that she cannot “only guess what he’s doing and how hard it is for him right currently” because the Dutch authorities have totally barred her (or anyone) from any contact with him.
Malik is not alone in feeling helpless, but she has support. 1inch, a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) aggregator, organized an Amsterdam rally on Aug. 20 to support Pertsev. It was also to promote developers’ rights to develop open-source software.
1inch has been vocal about the matter. He stated that Pertsev’s arrest threatens to “create dangerous precedents” and could “kill all open-source software segments” if developers are held accountable for any software they make that is misused.
Malik expressed gratitude to 1inch for their efforts, and to the wider crypto community. It proves that people really do care.
Malik hopes that Pertsev’s injustice will be brought to the forefront and the rally will also influence public opinion about open-source software.
“We are trying to get publicity so as many people as we can about the arrests and the reasons behind them. This accusation can have serious consequences for open-source developers and other individuals.
Pertsev’s arrest can’t be ignored. Venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary said in a recent interview crypto privacy tools such as Tornado Cash are part of a “crypto cowboy culture that “messs with the primal force of regulation,” and then described Pertsev’s detention as a necessary one.
He said, “If we must sacrifice him, that’s okay. We want some stability in that institution capital.”
The United States Office of Foreign Asset Control had previously banned U.S. citizens from interfacing with Tornado Cash before the arrest. This was in response to growing concerns that the currency was being used for money laundering. According to the U.S. Treasury, Tornado Cash has been involved in more than $7 billion of money laundering activities since Pertsev founded Tornado Cash in 2019.
