In a massive, internationally coordinated operation, the Frankfurt am Main Public Prosecutor’s Office – Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) have successfully dismantled the relaunched “Crimenetwork” platform.

Law enforcement officers arrested the suspected operator, a 35-year-old German citizen, at his residence in Mallorca.

A special unit of the Spanish National Police executed the arrest based on a European Arrest Warrant, effectively halting one of the most prominent marketplaces in the German-speaking underground economy.

Crimenetwork Exposes

Authorities allege that the accused built and administered this entirely new technical infrastructure under the name “Crimenetwork” just days after police shut down the original platform in December 2024.

Despite the previous administrator’s arrest, the rebooted darknet site quickly gained traction. It offered a similar range of illegal goods and services, including stolen data, forged documents, and illicit narcotics.

Before its sudden takedown, the renewed platform had quickly amassed a user base of over 22,000 individuals and hosted more than 100 active vendors.

Users on the platform carried out illicit transactions mainly using privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero.

Investigators secured extensive evidence indicating that the new platform generated revenues exceeding €3.6 million.

The primary operator collected commission payments on every processed sale and charged vendors monthly fees for advertising rights and sales licenses.

During the recent raid, international law enforcement successfully seized approximately €194,000 in assets suspected of being linked directly to the platform.

Furthermore, authorities obtained comprehensive user and transaction databases, providing critical leads for tracking down the buyers and sellers who primarily reside in German-speaking regions.

This successful takedown relied heavily on close collaboration among the BKA, the ZIT, the Spanish Policía Nacional, Moldovan cybercrime units, and Eurojust.

Regional German police departments also coordinated simultaneous measures against the accused for separate commercial fraud investigations.

Carsten Meywirth, Director at the BKA and Head of the Cybercrime Department, stated: “The reboot of Crimenetwork has failed, and another administrator will have to answer before a German court.

We are also consistently enforcing applicable law in the Darknet together with our national and international partners. Cybercrime doesn’t pay”.

Adding to this warning, Dr. Benjamin Krause, Senior Public Prosecutor and Press Spokesperson for the ZIT, emphasized the legal consequences.

In March 2026, the alleged operator of the predecessor version of ‘Crimenetwork’ was sentenced by the Gießen Regional Court to seven years and ten months in prison.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the proceeds of crime amounting to over ten million euros.

Even though this verdict is not yet legally binding, it clearly demonstrates that crime on the Darknet also has consequences.

Following the shutdown, a law enforcement assurance banner was placed on the seized online portal (bustedagaincrime.network) to notify users of the takedown.

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