On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the sole administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace that enabled narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals to openly trade in illegal drugs and services. OFAC specifically designated Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, who allegedly held full control over Nemesis and its virtual currency wallets. Since it was established in 2021, Nemesis allegedly operated as an encrypted criminal network that provided narcotics traffickers, including traffickers of fentanyl, with a safe haven to promote the production, sale and shipment of illegal narcotics. The Nemesis marketplace, which was used to facilitate the sale of nearly $30 million worth of illegal drugs between 2021 and 2024, was allegedly designed with built-in money laundering features. According to OFAC, Parsarad used Nemesis to launder virtual currencies for narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals until March 20, 2024, when U.S., German, and Lithuanian law enforcement agencies seized its servers in a joint operation.
Parsarad’s designation was imposed pursuant to EO 14059, which targets persons involved in the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. As a result of this designation, all property and interests in property of the designated person within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.