In the latest reports, the DeepDotWeb website’s administrator has pleaded guilty to earning compensation for using the website to hitch sellers and buyers trading illegal commodities on the dark web.
The DeepDotWeb:
Earlier this week, the accused, Tal Prihar who is a 37-year-old Israeli citizen living in Brazil had pleaded guilty and affirmed that he was running the DeepDotWeb since 2013 co-owned with Michael Phan.
Back in 2019, the DeepDotWeb, which was mainly a website dedicated to news and events about the dark web, made major news rounds for getting seized by law authorities.
However, it was disclosed during the prosecution that the website co-owners also received kickbacks and compensations for connecting people who were indulging in the trade of illegal goods.
Massive earnings:
Apparently, the total sum that these co-owners earned via these kickbacks was a staggering $8 million that involved them facilitating direct links to marketplaces selling products including firearms, heroin, fentanyl, malware, and stolen data record dumps. The referral links included listings for AlphaBay, Agora, Abraxas, Dream, and Valhalla which are infamous darknet marketplaces.
The DeepDotWeb was one of the multiple provisions that offered lists of active darknet marketplaces, together with their concealed link addresses that were accessible via the Tor network.
The earnings, totaling about 8,155 BTC(Bitcoin) gained via these kickbacks were subsequently laundered by Prihar via means of cryptocurrency wallets and bank accounts registered to shell companies.
Pleading guilty and sentences:
Prihar is currently looking at a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in jail as a result of pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The final sentence will be delivered on August 2.
Authorities have termed offenders like Prijar as “brokers for illegal Darknet marketplaces” who, like in the case of DeepDotWeb, facilitate the trade of fentanyl, firearms, and other dangerous and illegal commodities and services and profit from the illegal businesses.
