$61M Crypto Seizure Targets Allegedly Iran-Linked Black-Market Oil Proceeds

US authorities are seeking to seize $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to black-market Iranian oil sales. The funds were laundered through a network of Chinese companies, including Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, which used Binance trading accounts.

The US government claims that the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization, benefited from the illicit oil money. The IRGC-linked businesses received payments in cryptocurrency from the wallets identified as 'Entity A,' which handled over $1.5 billion in oil proceeds.

According to Deputy US Attorney Sean S. Buckley, the government alleges that the Iranian regime used cryptocurrency actors in China and elsewhere to launder more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil money.