US Imposes Sanctions on Bitcoin and Monero Wallets Linked to Nemesis Darknet Marketplace

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added 44 Bitcoin and five Monero addresses linked to the now-defunct dark web marketplace Nemesis Market to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.

According to the press release, these addresses were managed by Iranian national Behrouz Parsaradh, who is believed to have served as the platform’s administrator.

On March 20, 2024, the BKA seized theinfrastructure of Nemesis Market in Germany and Lithuania, effectively disrupting its operations. The police also confiscated digital assets valued at €94,000.

The investigation began in October 2022.

Launched in 2021, the platform was involved in the sale of drugs, stolen data, and credit card information, along with cybercriminal services, including ransomware, phishing, and DDoS attacks.

Before its closure, Nemesis Market had an audience of 30,000 active users, who engaged in transactions for banned substances totaling approximately $30 million.

According to OFAC, Parsaradh earned millions in commissions from these transactions and facilitated the laundering of digital assets.

The administrator is currently at large. Authorities suggest that Parsaradh may have been «discussing the creation of a new dark web marketplace» with former suppliers.

Additionally, in April 2022, German police confiscated servers from the Hydra dark web marketplace, seizing 543 BTC, while the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the platform.

In the same month, an American court indicted Dmitry Pavlov, a Russian national, in absentia for his role in administering Hydra, providing hosting services, conspiracy to money laundering, and drug distribution. Pavel was arrested in Russia by the Meshchansky District Court on separate charges.

In December 2024, the Moscow Regional Court sentenced Hydra founder Stanislav Moiseev to life imprisonment along with a fine of 4 million rubles.