The Moscow Regional Court has sentenced Stanislav Moiseev, the founder of a store on the darknet marketplace Hydra, to life imprisonment and a fine of 4 million rubles, as reported by Interfax.
Fifteen of Moiseev’s accomplices received sentences ranging from eight to 23 years, with fines totaling 16 million rubles.
All individuals involved in the case were found guilty of organizing a criminal community and the production and distribution of drugs on a particularly large scale.
The state has confiscated the convicts’ vehicles, land plots, and real estate. The court also maintained the seizure of assets to enforce the fines.
Hydra is one of the world’s largest darknet marketplaces. According to U.S. authorities, from January 2016 to March 2022, wallets controlled by the platform received cryptocurrencies worth over $5 billion. In 2021, it accounted for 75% of all darknet-related crypto transactions, amounting to at least €1.23 billion.
In April 2022, German police confiscated Hydra’s servers and seized 543 BTC, while the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the platform.
That same month, a U.S. court charged Russian Dmitry Pavlov in absentia with administering the darknet platform, providing hosting services, conspiracy to launder money, and drug trafficking.
At the same time, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow arrested Pavlov on separate charges of illegal drug distribution on a particularly large scale. During the investigation, law enforcement faced challenges as the suspect refused to disclose the password to his confiscated cryptocurrency wallet.