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The U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC has imposed sanctions on Behrouz Parsarad, the operator of the crypto marketplace Nemesis. Parsarad, an Iranian national, reportedly earned commissions from the illegal trading of products in the digital realm. The sanctions are a result of billions of dollars in transactions conducted between 2021 and 2024, drawing international attention to the platform.
Restrictions and Operations
In March 2024, authorities from the U.S., Germany, and Lithuania confiscated servers linked to Nemesis. Following these operations, it was revealed that Parsarad was in talks to establish a new platform with former vendors. The platform hosted over 30,000 active users and about 1,000 sellers.
Statements from Officials
During the operations, crypto wallets were also seized. OFAC noted that Parsarad earned millions of dollars from the transactions.
Bradley T. Smith: “As the manager of the Nemesis digital marketplace, he aimed to create a safe space for the production, sale, and transport of illegal products.”
Ari Redbord: “Nemesis hosted not only the trading of certain banned products but also counterfeit identifications and cyber attack tools.”
Authorities coordinated with organizations such as Europol, Germany’s BKA, and the UK’s NCA to conduct extensive operations against digital criminal activities. These actions were part of international cooperation efforts.
Under the imposed sanctions, 44 Bitcoin 
$107,278 and 5 Monero wallet addresses were identified. Approximately $850,000 was transferred from the identified Bitcoin wallets, bringing the total with Parsarad’s other crypto assets to $1.6 million.
These operations demonstrate the effective use of blockchain technology in the international fight against digital criminal organizations. Officials expressed that technological advancements allow for monitoring and disrupting crime networks. However, the increasing revenue from digital marketplaces underscores the vast scope of these activities.
