WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, the administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace, which was subject of an international law enforcement operation and was taken down in 2024.
Narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals openly traded in illegal drugs and services on Nemesis, which was designed with built-in money laundering features. Nemesis had more than 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 United States, according to the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
'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.
This marks OFAC's first sanctions designation as a member of the FBI-led interagency Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) Team.
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