In the so-called cyberbunker process around an underground darknet data center for criminal transactions, the public prosecutor's office has sometimes demanded high prison sentences for the alleged operators.
All eight defendants were guilty of forming a criminal organization and aiding and abetting - to tens of thousands of crimes that were carried out by their customers via illegally hosted websites, said Chief Public Prosecutor Jörg Angerer on Thursday in his plea before the Trier district court.
Trier - For the 62-year-old "head of the gang" he demanded a prison sentence of seven years and six months.
According to Angerer, a so-called manager (52) of the alleged gang is to receive a prison sentence of three years and eight months, the son of the main defendant a prison sentence of five years and six months.
For the other defendants, the required sentences are between three years and one year and nine months, the latter could be suspended, Angerer said.
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"All of the defendants were aware of the cyberbunker's business model," said Angerer.
They wanted to host illegal sites and protect customers from access by law enforcement agencies.
There was a clear division of tasks between the defendants.
"Without a host like the cyberbunker, the perpetrators would not have been able to commit their crimes."
Customers are said to have been platforms such as "Wall Street Market" with around 240,000 narcotics deals worth a good 36 million euros.
The darknet marketplace “Cannabis Road”, for example, also used the cyberbunker.
And: The large-scale attack on Telekom routers in November 2016 is also said to have been controlled via servers there.
There are also counterfeit transactions.
The trial against the seven men and one woman has been running since October 2020. According to earlier statements by the public prosecutor, it is one of the largest trials against cybercrime in Germany.
The underground facility in an old bunker in Traben-Trarbach on the Moselle was dug by hundreds of police officers in autumn 2019 after five years of investigations.
At that time, 886 physical and virtual servers with two million gigabytes were secured.
The trial continues on Monday with the defense of the main defendant's defense.
dpa
