DeepDotWeb darknet site operator pleads guilty to money laundering via Bitcoin

The administrator of the DeepDotWeb darknet news site, Tal Prihar, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money using cryptocurrency, the U.S. Department of Justice reports.

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According to the department, Prihar posted advertisements for various marketplaces operating in the dark-web segment of the internet. He received payments in Bitcoin and, from 2013 to 2019, earned about 8,155 BTC (more than $8.4 million at the time of the transactions).

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The defendant laundered proceeds through a series of crypto wallets and shell companies, the DOJ said.

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Prihar was arrested in 2019, and the DeepDotWeb domain was seized.

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A court date has been set for August 2; Prihar faces up to 20 years in prison. He also agreed to forfeit $8.4 million—the equivalent of the proceeds from advertising.

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The DOJ did not say how much of the 8,155 BTC remained in Prihar’s possession. As of now, the total value of the coins exceeds $480 million.

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Earlier ForkLog reported that sellers of the darknet marketplace Hydra devised ‘stash system’ for anonymous Bitcoin withdrawal.

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