Russia sentences Hydra marketplace founder to life in prison
Russian authorities have sentenced Stanislav Moiseyev, the founder of criminal drugs platform Hydra, to life in prison after charging him with organizing a criminal drugs enterprise. Russia’s state-run news agency reported that Moiseyev was fined 4 million rubles (~$37,000) and sentenced alongside 15 other accomplices by a Moscow court. These accomplices were fined a total of 16 million rubles (~$150,000) and received prison sentences ranging from eight to 23 years. Hydra operated out of Russia and Belarus between 2015 and 2018. In 2021, Chainalysis reported that the group processed almost $3.2 billion worth of crypto through various “high-risk” crypto exchanges. Crystal Blockchain also found that $780 million was transacted between Binance and Hydra . Footage of the sentencing shared by the Moscow Region Prosecutor’s Office. Law enforcement reportedly seized a ton of drugs from the Hydra organization. Moiseyev and his accomplices will reportedly be imprisoned i...