German authorities accuse Australian man of running DarkMarket, the world’s largest illegal online marketplace
It is alleged that amongst other things drugs were sold on DarkMarket.(Unsplash: Jay Wennington)
An Australian man accused of operating what prosecutors believe was the biggest illegal marketplace on the darknet has been arrested in Germany.
Key points:
- The marketplace had nearly 500,000 users and more than 2,400 vendors, according to prosecutors
- German investigators were assisted in their months-long probe by US authorities and by Australian, British, Danish, Swiss, Ukrainian and Moldovan police
- More than 140 million euros ($AUD220 million) of cryptocurrency was allegedly exchanged on the site
The site, known as DarkMarket, was shut down on Monday, prosecutors in the south-western city of Koblenz said.
All sorts of drugs, forged money, stolen or forged credit cards, anonymous mobile phone SIM cards and malware were among the things offered for sale there, they added.
The suspected operator, a 34-year-old Australian man, was arrested near the Germany-Denmark border.
Prosecutors said a judge has ordered him to be held in custody pending possible charges, and that he hasn’t given any information to investigators.
German investigators were assisted in their months-long probe by US authorities and by Australian, British, Danish, Swiss, Ukrainian and Moldovan police.
Before being taken down, the marketplace had nearly 500,000 users and more than 2,400 vendors, prosecutors said.
They added it had processed more than 320,000 transactions, while more than 140 million euros ($AUD220 million) in Bitcoin and Monero cryptocurrency was exchanged.
The darknet is a part of the web accessible only with specialised identity-cloaking tools.
More than 20 servers in Moldova and Ukraine were seized as part of the operation.
Police hope to find information on those servers about other participants in the marketplace.
Prosecutors said the move against DarkMarket originated in an investigation of a data processing centre installed in a former NATO bunker in south-western Germany that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities.
It was shut down in 2019 and hosted DarkMarket at one point.
A spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the department was “aware of reports that an Australian man has been detained in German and stands ready to provide consular assistance”.
Such assistance could include prison visits and liaison with local authorities to monitor welfare and assistance in communicating with family members.
However, consular staff cannot intervene in legal cases.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment,” the spokesperson said.
The ABC has contacted authorities in Germany for comment.
AP
