US sanctions Iranian admin of darknet marketplace
The US Department of the Treasury placed sanctions on Behrouz Parsarad, an Iran-based administrator of Nemesis, a darknet marketplace selling narcotics, dismantled last year.
The US Department of the Treasury placed sanctions on Behrouz Parsarad, an Iran-based administrator of Nemesis, a darknet marketplace selling narcotics, dismantled last year.
The platform, which facilitated the sale of narcotics and illicit services, had over 30,000 active users and facilitated transactions worth nearly $30 million between 2021 and 2024, according to the Treasury.
“As the administrator of the Nemesis darknet marketplace, Parsarad sought to build—and continues to try to re-establish—a safe haven to facilitate the production, sale, and shipment of illegal narcotics like fentanyl and other synthetic opioids,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith.
“Treasury, in partnership with US law enforcement, will use all available tools to dismantle these darknet marketplaces and hold accountable the individuals who oversee them.”
Parsarad controlled Nemesis and its virtual currency wallets, according to the Treasury, and profited from transaction fees that amounted to millions of dollars. He is also accused of laundering virtual currencies for drug traffickers and cybercriminals operating on the platform.
The US, German, and Lithuanian law enforcement agencies seized Nemesis’ servers last March, but the Treasury says Parsarad has since been in discussions with former vendors about launching a successor platform.
The sanctions block all Parsarad-related property under US jurisdiction and prohibit financial transactions with him. Treasury also identified 49 virtual currency addresses linked to him. Financial institutions engaging with Parsarad may face penalties.
When Nemesis was taken down, German authorities said that more than 150,000 user accounts and over 1,100 seller accounts were registered on the site, accessible on the Tor network.
Other than drug trafficking, the site had facilitated the trade of fraudulently obtained goods and data, as well as cybercrime services such as DDoS attacks, phishing, and ransomware.
