Moscow court bans ‘hitman-for-hire’ website
A Russian court has blocked a website that advertised contract killings and covert assassinations disguised as accidents, according to court documents. It remains unclear whether anyone was killed or charged in connection with the site.
The banned platform reportedly offered killings staged as accidents – such as workplace injuries or falls from heights – as well as suicides and poisonings made to look like heart attacks. Prices ranged from 170,000 rubles ($2,000) to 400,000 rubles ($4,700), RIA Novosti reported on Friday.
The investigation was launched by a military prosecutor who discovered that “information about providing services for the killing of a person was freely available to an unlimited number of users.”
The Nikulinsky District Court in Moscow ruled that the website contained prohibited information on how to order a murder, emphasizing that the content was accessible to any internet user, including minors.
“Since the site in question freely provides materials on the possibility of offering services for the killing of a person, the court concludes that the information it contains is subject to recognition as prohibited for dissemination, as are actions related to publishing such information,” the ruling stated.
Although no one has yet been charged in relation to the hitman-for-hire website, the court noted that organizers, instigators, and accomplices in contract killings are all subject to criminal prosecution under Russian law.
A journalistic investigation into Russia’s contract killing market, conducted by Gazeta.ru last year, uncovered hundreds of online ads offering to kill or injure people, with prices ranging from tens of thousands to several million rubles.
The report noted that while such cases were rare in 2018, they now number in the hundreds each year, often involving more experienced hitmen. It also highlighted a shift in platforms – from the darknet to messenger apps and disguised online channels – as well as a move from word-of-mouth promotion to online advertising.
The Investigative Committee has opened dozens of cases in recent years. While politically motivated assassinations often attract media attention, analysts say that most killings are tied to personal disputes or business-related conflicts.
