OFAC designates Iranian administrator of darknet marketplace with Bitcoin and Monero addresses

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned an Iranian national for operating Nemesis, a darknet drug marketplace, and blacklisted almost 50 crypto addresses tied to it.

The U.S. Treasury has taken action against Behrouz Parsarad, an Iranian national behind Nemesis, a darknet marketplace involved in fentanyl and other drug trafficking. In a March 4 announcement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control revealed it had also sanctioned 49 cryptocurrency addresses tied to the platform.

Founded in 2021, Nemesis became a big hub for illegal drug sales, offering fentanyl and other substances. Per OFAC, Nemesis had over 30,000 active users and 1,000 vendors and facilitated the sale of nearly $30 million worth of drugs around the world between 2021 and 2024, including to the U.S., relying on Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR) for payments.

“Prior to its takedown by law enforcement, narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals openly traded in illegal drugs and services on Nemesis, which was designed with built-in money laundering features.”

OFAC

According to blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, there are “clear on-chain links between Nemesis and Chinese drug precursor manufacturers.” Funds from Nemesis vendors reportedly flowed directly to these suppliers, supporting the production of synthetic opioids.

Nemesis was seized in March 2024 in a joint operation by U.S., German, and Lithuanian authorities. Officials confiscated around $102,000 in cryptocurrency assets. Yet, Parsarad allegedly attempted to revive the platform by contacting former vendors, prompting the latest enforcement action to curb illicit trade.

The crackdown on Nemesis follows similar enforcement actions against other darknet markets. TRM Labs noted that darknet marketplaces generated “over $1.7 billion in revenue” in 2024, with Russian-language platforms dominating the space and facilitating more than 97% of illicit drug sales via crypto such as BTC and TRON (TRX).

While Western darknet markets struggled due to law enforcement pressure, Russian platforms thrived under low-risk conditions. According to TRM Labs, the Russian darknet ecosystem “remained stable throughout 2024, with only four out of approximately 20 marketplaces ceasing operations.”