Police seizes largest German online crime marketplace, arrests admin

Germany has taken down the largest online cybercrime marketplace in the country, named "Crimenetwork," and arrested its administrator for facilitating the sale of drugs, stolen data, and illegal services.

The law enforcement action was carried out on Monday by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt am Main, the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT), and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

Crimenetwork was the largest German-language marketplace where criminals posted stolen data and drugs for sale and offered services such as document forging.

Established in 2012, the site had over 100 registered sellers and 100,000 users when it was shut down, most of which were based in German-speaking countries.

"The platform, considered the largest German-speaking online marketplace for the underground economy, had been active for many years," reads BKA's announcement.

"As part of the investigation, the servers that constituted the platform's technical infrastructure were taken offline."

Users of Crimenetwork could pay for goods and services using Bitcoin or the hard-to-trace cryptocurrency Monero (XMR).

BKA says that, between 2018 and 2024, transactions on the platform amounted to 1,000 Bitcoin and over 20,000 Monero, currently valued at approximately 93,000,000 Euros ($98,000,000).

Crimenetwork earned a 5% cut from those transactions, plus a monthly subscription fee from sellers and advertising revenue. This means that the market's operators made at least $5,000,000 since 2018.

The arrested administrator is a 29-year-old suspect known online as "Techmin," who is believed to have served as a technical expert for Crimenetwork for several years.

He now faces charges related to Section 127 of the German Criminal Code related to the operation of criminal online marketplaces and also offenses under Sections 29a and 30a of the Narcotics Act.

BKA also said that it has secured information about registered members of the cybercrime platform, so more arrests might follow in the future.

"As part of the operation, extensive user and transaction data were secured, providing valuable leads for further unraveling the criminal structures behind the platform," warned the BKA.

The shutdown of Crimenetwork follows shortly after other notable anti-cybercrime operations in Germany, like the seizure of the Dstat.cc DDoS review platform on November 1, 2024.

That action, which was part of "Operation PowerOFF," also involved two arrests, including a person believed to be the manager of the site.

In mid-September, German law enforcement seized 47 cryptocurrency exchange services hosted in the country, facilitating illegal money laundering activities for cybercriminals, including ransomware gangs.