U.S. Sanctions 49 Crypto Addresses Linked to Shuttered Darknet Market Nemesis
1min read The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 49 cryptocurrency addresses linked to the illegal online marketplace Nemesis. On Tuesday, the U.S. government sanctioned Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, the operator of the shuttered Nemesis darknet marketplace, including 44 Bitcoin addresses and five Monero addresses.
The sanctions come one year after the Nemesis marketplace was taken down. Parsarad, who is believed to be the administrator of the platform, was accused of facilitating illegal activities through the marketplace. The U.S. government has been cracking down on darknet marketplaces and their operators in recent years, with this latest action being part of a broader effort to combat illicit activities online.
The sanctioned crypto addresses are now subject to U.S. economic sanctions, which means that any transactions involving these addresses may be illegal. The U.S. government has warned that engaging in transactions with sanctioned entities can result in significant penalties, including fines and imprisonment.
The Nemesis marketplace was known for facilitating the sale of illegal goods and services, including drugs, hacking tools, and stolen data. The marketplace operated on the dark web, a part of the internet that is not accessible through standard web browsers and requires specialized software to access. The U.S. government has been working to disrupt the operations of darknet marketplaces and to bring their operators to justice.
The sanctions against Parsarad and the Nemesis marketplace are part of a broader effort by the U.S. government to combat illicit activities online. The U.S. Treasury Department has been increasingly focused on the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities, and has taken action against a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and other entities that have been used to facilitate illicit transactions.
