A 33-year-old citizen of Croatia and Serbia, Milomir Ramnitsa, has been accused of starting and managing the Darknet Market Monopoly Market. He is alleged to have contributed to the sale of various prohibited substances, with the Ministry of Justice stating that he has earned approximately $18 million from the sale of right-handed substances.
According to an indictment revealed by the US Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies had been seeking Ramnitsa since July 2022 before he was apprehended and transported from Austria to Washington to face charges. The accused is facing charges of laundering money, owning, and distributing prohibited substances.
The accused reportedly used at least two cryptocurrency exchange services to launder his illegal income, selling cryptocurrency to Serbian traders by hand in exchange for fiat currency. If found guilty, Ramnitsa could face life imprisonment and heavy financial fines.
In May, an international operation dubbed Spector led to the arrests of 288 sellers and customers of the Monopoly Market Darknet. The police confiscated €50.8 million in cash and cryptocurrency, and 850 kg of drugs and 117 units of firearms were confiscated.
According to Europol, Monopoly Market sellers also worked on other darknet markets, so their arrest served a greater purpose in cracking down on drug trafficking and illegal goods exchange in the Darknet. Monopoly Market had been launched in 2019 but was captured by German law enforcement in 2021 and was used to gather evidence on sellers and buyers.