U.S.-German Operation Shuts Down World’s Largest Darknet Marketplace

German authorities on Tuesday, darknet market in coordination with the U.S. Justice Department, shut down Hydra Market, a Russian-language site they described because the world’s largest and longest-operating unlawful market on the darkish web.

Federal prosecutors in San Francisco also filed criminal money laundering and drug prices in opposition to a 30-12 months-previous resident of Russia, Dmitry Olegovich Pavlov, described because the site’s alleged administrator.

In court docket documents, the Justice Department estimated that Hydra Market accounted for eighty % of all cryptocurrency transactions on the dark net, generating $5.2 billion in sales since 2016. German and American officials said authorities seized cryptocurrency worth $25.Three million dollars once they shut the market down.

Prosecutors mentioned the market enabled users, primarily in Russian-speaking nations, to purchase and sell illegal medication, stolen financial information, and fraudulent identification documents, including U.S. passports and drivers licenses. The site also offered money-laundering companies, courtroom documents stated.

A cybercrime research agency, Elliptic, mentioned the products were advertised for sale in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

"The Department of Justice won't permit darknet markets and cryptocurrency to be a secure haven for cash laundering and the sale of hacking instruments and companies," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated.

Court documents stated Hydra allowed sellers to create accounts and advertise illegal merchandise, and patrons might create accounts to purchase them. Among unlawful medication supplied for sale were cocaine, methamphetamines, LSD and heroin.

Buyers rated the sellers on a five-star range, which had been displayed on the positioning along with buyer reviews. German officials stated the market had about 17 million buyer accounts and more than 19,000 sales accounts.

"This was the Amazon-dot-com of the dark internet," a Justice Department official mentioned.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Tuesday towards the Hydra market and Garantex, a digital currency trade primarily based in Russia. It mentioned both had helped finance gangs that carried out ransomware attacks.