The developers of the Tornado Cash mixer, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, have successfully raised over $430,000 for legal fees, as reported on the Justice DAO website.
On January 22, 2024, Storm officially launched his fundraising campaign. Along with the fundraising campaign, the developers of the mixer together with the non-profit organization Free Pertsev&Storm initiated the Justice DAO project.
"The year 2024 is a pivotal year that will define the rest of my life. To be honest, I have apprehension. However, I am also hopeful that the community will support me. I am asking you to donate to my legal defense"said Storm.
The project's website emphasizes the following:
"The arrest of Storm and Pertsev represents a direct attack on the open source community. These events could have far-reaching consequences for all developers who contribute to open-source development. That's why we need to take action now."
Contributions can be made through three platforms, Juicebox, WeWantJusticeDAO and GoFundMe. Donations are accepted in a variety of forms, including cryptocurrencies.
So far, Juicebox has received $402,785 in transfers and GoFundMe has received $24,675. No information about the fundraising progress of WeWantJusticeDAO has been disclosed.
According to Free Pertsev&Storm, the developers' legal fees are estimated to cost between $90,000 and $100,000 per month. The fundraising campaign will run until February 22, 2024.
The initiative has received the support of Edward Snowden, a former agent of the CIA and the US National Security Agency. Since 2013, Snowden has been living in Russia, where he found asylum from the US authorities.
If you can help, please help. Privacy is not a crime. https://t.co/R4vauNLRB4
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 23, 2024
The blocking of Tornado Cash, as well as the arrest of Pertsev and Storm, was a major development. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (#OFAC) imposed sanctions against the mixer in August 2022. Shortly thereafter, Pertsev was detained in Amsterdam and jailed until April 2023, from where he was transferred to house arrest.
Storm and Roman Semenov, another developer of the mixer, were subsequently charged. They are accused of aiding and abetting the laundering of $1 billion dollars.
A court hearing in the case is tentatively scheduled for September 2024.
