Drugs, money laundering, stolen data: The world’s largest illegal marketplace in the Darknet has been switched off by German authorities. Servers in Germany and Bitcoins had been ensured in the total value of 23 million euros, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Attorney General of Frankfurt announced on Tuesday.
- Authorities switch off “Hydra Market” – he is the largest marketplace in the Darknet
- No reference to the war in Ukraine
- “Hydra Market” achieved 2020 sales of 1.23 billion euros
Determined against previously unknown operators and administrators of the platform with the name “Hydra Market”. They are under the suspicion of commercial money laundering. The investigation has been running since August 2021, several US authorities have been involved.
Authorities switch off “Hydra Market” – he is the largest marketplace in the Darknet
The Russian-speaking platform had been at least reachable since 2015 on the so-called gate network. Above all, it had been traded with illegal narcotics, but it also went around worldwide data, counterfeit documents as well as digital services. There is no current reference to the war in Ukraine, the press spokesman said the central office to combat the Internet Crime (ZIT) of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Frankfurt, Sebastian onion.
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Around 17 million customer and more than 19,000 sales accounts were registered on the platform. The Darknet is a hidden part of the Internet, which is only accessible via certain software and is not found by the usual search engines.
No reference to the war in Ukraine
Onion spoke of a huge success of the investigators. How big the platform was to read alone at sales: In 2020, at least 1.23 billion euros have been achieved – this has made “Hydra Market” to the highest highest illegal marketplace in the world. It has also been offered a service to conceal digital transactions called “Bitcoin Bank Mixer” and have investigations of law enforcement agencies “immensely difficult”.
According to the operators and administrators, internationally eagerly caught. There is no identity of individual trading persons yet. “Therefore, the investigation has not been completed for a long time,” said onion.
“Hydra Market” achieved 2020 sales of 1.23 billion euros
In Washington, US Finance Minister Janet Yellen explained the approach to the group send a clear message to criminals that they could not hide in the Darknet or in Russia. “The global threat of cybercrime and blackmailing software that rises from Russia and the ability of criminal leader to operate without penalty, is very worrying for the United States,” said Yellen.