In the report released by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the nemesis darknet marketplace announced the sanctions, noting about $30 million in illicit drugs between 2021 and 2024. During the period, the website had 30,000 active users and 1,000 vendors.

United States OFAC sanctions 49 wallets linked to Parsarad

In addition to its usual service, the website provided professional hacking services and the sale of false identification documents to users. The founder also used the platform to launder funds for bad actors. According to the OFAC, the founder, who hailed from Tehran, collected fees running into millions from users during the period that the activities were being carried out.

“Parsarad sought to build — and continues to try to re-establish — a safe haven to facilitate the production, sale, and shipment of illegal narcotics like fentanyl and other synthetic opioids,” Acting Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said.

According to Chainalysis, the 44 Bitcoin wallets seized from the founder received about $850,000, sending more than $1.6 million, taking advantage of the surge in the price of Bitcoin. Parsarad also had five Monero wallets. Nemesis was closed in March 2024 through a joint effort between the United States, German, and Lithuanian law enforcement.

OFAC also announced that it has taken measures against several actions to combat drug trafficking via the darknet. It sanctioned Hydra and Genesis marketplaces in April 2022 and April 2023, respectively. Crypto exchange Bizlato, which laundered more than $700 million in crypto for Hydra users, while Genesis acted as a third-party payment processor.

The first darknet marketplace was Silk Road, established in 2011 by Ross Ulbricht and closed down in 2013. The U.S. government seized 174,000 BTC in that case and still holds them. Ulbricht received two life sentences in prison in that case, but U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned him this year.

The post United States Treasury blacklists wallets tied to the Nemesis darknet marketplace first appeared on Coinfea.

The crypto community has supported Pertsev, with users on X showering him with words of support. Meanwhile, others are sending financial help in his fight for justice. One notable donation is the 50 ETH he received from MolochDAO CEO Ameen Soleimani. Soleimani also noted that he is willing to donate the same amount to help Pertsev pay case costs and fight the allegations.

Tornado Cash’s operations unaffected by US sanctions

Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). OFAC claimed the crypto mixing platform was sanctioned due to money laundering charges. According to its statement, the platform has carried out this act since its launch in 2019, laundering about $7 billion.

One notable laundering act, according to the OFAC, was helping daredevil North Korean group Lazarus to launder stolen $455 million. Despite the sanctions, the platform has continued to operate, boasting a current value locked of over $600 million and a market capitalization of $13.14 million, per data from DefiLlama.

The platform has also continued to receive millions monthly. Last month, it recorded deposits worth $176 million while processing withdrawals of $72.92 million. Flipside Crypto put the platform’s total deposit in 2024 at $2.8 billion while withdrawals at $1.3 billion.

Congress members want a detailed explanation from OFAC

Members of the House of Representatives wrote a letter to the OFAC on November 14, seeking details about its investigation of the platform. The seven Democrats wanted to know why the platform was still in operation despite the sanctions. The letter was addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.

The group demanded why the sanctions did not put the platform out of business since it was announced in 2022. “We write to request additional information about the ongoing use of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash after sanctions were imposed in 2022,” the letter said.

The group, headed by anti-crypto Congress member Brad Sherman highlighted frustrations surrounding Tornado Cash’s continued operations. The letter noted that other sanctioned centralized platforms like Sinbad had been taken down, but Tornado Cash is still operating. The group highlighted the resurgence in deposits and withdrawals, noting the involvement of fraudsters, and other bad actors.

They ended the letter by asking the agency to answer several questions including how many illicit transactions the platform had facilitated, if the agency was going to sanction people using the platform, and if the department had the necessary tools to ensure the sanctions were effected. The department has been instructed to provide answers to these questions by December 2.

The post Tornado Cash developer remanded in detention as platform registers $2.8 billion in deposits first appeared on Coinfea.