German Authorities Shut Down ‘World’s Largest And Longest-Running’ Darknet Market, Seize $25M in Bitcoin

The Justice Department announced today the seizure of Hydra Market (Hydra), the world’s largest and longest-running darknet market. In 2021, Hydra accounted for an estimated 80% of all darknet market-related cryptocurrency transactions, and since 2015, the marketplace has received approximately $5.2 billion in cryptocurrency.

The seizure of the Hydra servers and cryptocurrency wallets containing $25 million worth of bitcoin was made this morning in Germany by the German Federal Criminal Police (the Bundeskriminalamt), in coordination with U.S. law enforcement.

“The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who violate our laws – no matter where they are located or how they try to hide their crimes,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Together with our German law enforcement partners, we have seized the infrastructure of the world’s largest darknet market, but our work is far from over. We will continue to work alongside our international and interagency partners to disrupt and dismantle darknet markets, and to hold those who commit their crimes on the dark web accountable for their acts.”

“The Department of Justice will not allow darknet markets and cryptocurrency to be a safe haven for money laundering and the sale of hacking tools and services,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Our message should be clear: we will continue to go after darknet markets and those who exploit them. Together with our partners in Germany and around the world, we will continue our work to disrupt the ecosystem that allows these criminal actors to operate.”

Hydra was an online criminal marketplace that enabled users in mainly Russian-speaking countries to buy and sell illicit goods and services, including illegal drugs, stolen financial information, fraudulent identification documents, and money laundering and mixing services, anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement. Transactions on Hydra were conducted in cryptocurrency and Hydra’s operators charged a commission for every transaction conducted on Hydra.

In conjunction with the shutdown of Hydra, the department also announced criminal charges against Dmitry Olegovich Pavlov, 30, a resident of Russia, for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in connection with his operation and administration of the servers used to run Hydra.

“This coordinated action sends a clear message to anyone attempting to operate or support an online criminal enterprise under the cover of the dark web,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “The dark web is not a place criminals can operate with impunity or hide from U.S. law enforcement, and we will continue to use our sophisticated tools and expertise to dismantle and disable darknet markets. This action also underscores the importance of international law enforcement collaboration. We thank German authorities and the Bundeskriminalamt, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, for its valued assistance in this case.”

https://breaking911.com/breaking-german-authorities-shut-down-worlds-largest-and-longest-running-darknet-market-seize-25m-in-bitcoin/