Brit 'made millions after setting up dark web marketplace aged 17'

A 20-year-old Brit who allegedly made millions after he set up a dark web marketplace when he was 17 has appeared in a Dutch court. 

The British national, named publicly as Finlay H, is accused of developing and maintaining the website which sold illegal goods including drugs, fake IDs and ransomware that could be used by hackers. 

He was arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in June and appeared in a Rotterdam court for a procedural hearing yesterday. 

H and an Irish national, who was arrested in Ireland in the summer, are both accused of running the website known as Bohemia.

Bohemia grew to become one of the largest dark web marketplaces of its kind. At the time of the arrests, police had confiscated over £6million in virtual currency. 

Since Dutch police started their investigation into Bohemia in 2022, it is estimated that on average 67,000 transactions a month were being made, leading to a record turnover of £10million in September last year. 

An eye-watering £1.4million worth of transactions were found to have passed through the Netherlands the probe - which also involved British, Irish and American police - found.

Bohemia was supposedly closed down at the end of 2023 in what has been claimed could have been an 'exit scam' - a form of fraud where the members abscond with the money associated with the company. 

Addressing the closure of the site in November, Bohemia said in a statement that a 'shameful and disgruntled set of events' had led a developer to go 'rogue' and withdraw a small amount of Bitcoin over a month the website Searchlight Cyber said. 

In a statement reported by Dutch News Stan Dujif, head of operations in the Dutch Police, said: 'Administrators, sellers and buyers of and on illegal marketplaces often believe themselves to be elusive to the police and the judiciary.  

'By conducting criminal investigations and prosecuting these criminals, it becomes clear that the dark web is not at all as anonymous as users may think. Due to international cooperation, the credibility and reliability of these markets have once again been severely damaged.'

After his court appearance, H will remain in custody for a further period.