The US Department of Justice has completed the seizure of assets exceeding $400 million linked to the darknet cryptocurrency mixer Helix.
The seized assets include cryptocurrencies, real estate, and bank accounts associated with the service.
According to regulators, Helix processed at least 354,468 BTC between 2014 and 2017, valued at around $300 million at the time. The platform primarily facilitated illegal transactions.
The mixer’s founder, Larry Dean Harmon, was arrested in February 2020. In August 2021, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, admitting to knowingly collaborating with darknet marketplaces.
Authorities seized various assets from him, including a Bitcoin storage device, but were unable to access the cryptocurrency. In November 2024, Harmon was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by supervised release, having initially faced up to 20 years behind bars.
The Tornado Cash Case
Legal proceedings concerning another crypto mixer, Tornado Cash, are ongoing.
In August 2022, the OFAC imposed sanctions against the service, stating that over $7 billion had flowed through the protocol, including funds from the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.
In January 2025, a US appellate court overturned the sanctions, citing "overreach" by the regulator, and sent the case back to a district court in Texas. In April, a federal court barred the OFAC from renewing or imposing new restrictions on the mixer.
However, legal action against the developers continues. Alexey Pertsev, found guilty of laundering $1.2 billion, was released but under electronic monitoring conditions.
In August, a US jury found co-founder Roman Storm guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business, facing up to five years in prison.
Storm's attorneys plan to file a motion to dismiss the trial as invalid.
Notably, in January, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin spoke in support of the Tornado Cash developer, describing the service as a necessary protection against the misuse of personal data by government entities and private corporations.