Russia Jails Hydra Founder for Life, $5 Billion Darknet Crypto Market Exposed

Hydra founder Stanislav Moiseev has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
A Russian court sentenced all 15 of Moiseev’s accomplices from 8 to 23 years.
Cars, properties, and other assets of all the people involved have been seized.

Stanislav Moiseev, founder of Hydra, has been sentenced to life in prison by the Moscow Regional Court. Hydra, a darknet marketplace and crypto mixer that handled $5 billion in cryptocurrency, is at the center of Russia’s intensified crackdown on illegal crypto mixers.

As per a statement published on December 2 by Moscow Prosecutor’s Office, Moiseev and 15 of his accomplices were found guilty of several crimes, including illegally making and selling drugs. The 15 accomplices were sentenced to 8 to 23 years.

The court said the founder of Hydra must pay $38,100 (4 million rubles). His 15 accomplices must pay a total of $152,400 (16 million rubles). Also, the authorities have taken all the vehicles and properties that belonged to the Hydra founder and his accomplices.

According to a report by Russian state-owned TASS, the convicted will serve their sentences in correctional colonies under “strict regimes” and will face the consequences of their actions.

A Long History of Crimes

Hydra rose to prominence in 2021 after being launched in 2015 and accounted for 80% of all darknet-associated digital asset transfers three years ago. The United States government took down the platform in 2022, as per an announcement by the Department of Justice (DoJ). The marketplace was known for selling drugs, stolen credit information and identities, and counterfeit currencies.

Between 2018 and 2020, the crypto mixer’s volume skyrocketed 624% year-over-year, as pointed out by Flashpoint, a blockchain security firm. In this time period, Hydra’s operations became more sophisticated and elaborate which led to the German authorities taking control of its Bitcoin (BTC) and servers in April 2022, ultimately causing the demise of the platform.

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