“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,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
On the other hand, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco commented, “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. 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.”
The DOJ is filed criminal charges against a Russian resident named Dmitry Olegovich Pavlov in connection with the shut down of Hydra. The department charged Parloiv with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and conspiracy to commit money laundering for operating and administering Hydra’s servers.
