German Authorities Shut Down Nemesis Darknet Marketplace

German police have announced the seizure of the infrastructure of the Nemesis darknet marketplace and the closure of its website. The investigation lasted more than a year and a half and was carried out with the support of law enforcement agencies from the United States and Lithuania.

Nemesis launched in 2021 and quickly grew in popularity, especially after the shutdown of “Hydra” in 2022. At that time, darknet platforms collectively attracted over 795,000 new users, and analysts from Resecurity ranked Nemesis among the top ten largest darknet marketplaces.

Illegal Goods and Services Sold on Nemesis

Nemesis offered all types of illegal goods: drugs, personal data, and hacker services, including ransomware programs and tools for phishing and DDoS attacks.

At the time the platform’s infrastructure—located in Germany and Lithuania—was dismantled, Nemesis had over 150,000 registered users and 1,100 vendors. According to police estimates, about 20% of these vendors were based in Germany.

Operation Details and Seizures

During the operation to shut down Nemesis, servers were confiscated and data was seized, which authorities say will help identify marketplace users. Authorities also seized €94,000 in cryptocurrency.

The German Federal Police stated that the closure of the marketplace and the prosecution of its operators “deals another blow to participants in the darknet’s shadow economy and demonstrates the effectiveness of international law enforcement in the digital space.”

Ongoing Investigation

Despite statements about prosecution, German authorities have not disclosed whether any site administrators or vendors have been arrested. According to Der Spiegel, the operators of Nemesis have not yet been identified, and authorities say the investigation is still ongoing.