FBI-created Anom phone service faces legal challenge over alleged deception

The FBI initiated the Anom telephone system in 2018 as a successor to the dismantled Phantom Secure network, positioning it as a sophisticated underworld communication tool while the service was actually operated from a server in Lithuania. Law enforcement agencies worldwide tapped the platform, capturing messages from a large number of criminal users and using the data to secure arrests and confiscate illicit drugs. In the Netherlands, more than five hundred phones running Anom were identified, including one belonging to long-time criminal Peer Schoofs, who was later sentenced to twelve years for drug trafficking.

Schoofs' counsel contends that the conviction rests on evidence obtained from a honey-pot that was hidden from the courts, asserting that the Lithuanian judge who authorized data collection was unaware of the FBI's involvement. The lawyer is seeking a retrial, arguing that the deception extends to Dutch authorities as well.