Yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Behrouz Parsarad, the sole Iran-based administrator of Nemesis, a darknet marketplace (DNM) that facilitated $30 million in global drug sales, including fentanyl trafficking, into the U.S. Before U.S., German, and Lithuanian authorities seized its servers in March 2024, Nemesis had 30,000 users and 1,000 vendors dealing not only in drugs, but also false ID and hacking services. Here’s what we found on-chain:
- Ties to other DMNs and money laundering: Parsarad handled over $1.6 million in crypto, funneled funds to other DNMs like ASAP Market and Incognito Market, and made use of mixers as well as mainstream exchanges.
- Strategic evasion of Iranian services: Operating out of a country where drug-related offenses can carry the death penalty, Parsarad took great care to avoid local platforms.
- Tracking potential Nemesis successors: Since last year’s takedown, Parsarad has hinted at launching a new DNM with former vendors. Chainalysis will continue to monitor emerging replacements and their links to global fentanyl trafficking networks.
This marks OFAC’s first action as part of the FBI-led Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Team, demonstrating the U.S.’ broadening commitment to disrupt the illicit global fentanyl trade, beyond China and Mexico. Read our full analysis on the blog.
