BKA and German ZIT shut down Hydra, the most popular Russian black market on the Dark Web
The German Federal Criminal Police Office or Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), together with the Public Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt am Main and the German Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT), have dismantled the server infrastructure of the illegal Russian Dark Web marketplace Hydra Market in Germany.
Bitcoins with a current value equivalent to approximately €23 million have been seized, preceded by extensive investigations conducted by the BKA and the ZIT since August 2021, involving several US authorities.
This marketplace has been a Dark Web platform that could be accessed through the Tor network since at least 2015. Its focus has been on the trade in illegal narcotics, although leaked data, forged documents and digital services were also available worldwide. Hydra Market has had around 17 million customers and more than 19,000 registered seller accounts, as well as a turnover of at least €1.23 billion by 2020.
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References:
- 05/04/2022 hackread.com Germany Shuts Down Russian Dark Web Market Hydra; Seizes $25M in BTC
- 05/04/2022 bka.de Server des weltweit größten Darknet-Marktplatzes beschlagnahmt und 543 Bitcoins im Gesamtwert von rund 23 Millionen Euro sichergestellt
- 05/04/2022 eldiario.es Alemania desmantela el “Hydra Market”, el mayor mercado global de la Internet oscura
- 05/04/2022 elespanol.com La policía cierra Hydra, el mercado negro ruso más popular de la Dark Web
- 05/04/2022 therecord.media $25 million confiscated by German authorities in takedown of Hydra dark web marketplace
- 05/04/2022 justice.gov Justice Department Investigation Leads to Shutdown of Largest Online Darknet Marketplace