DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $61 Million in Crypto Tied to Iranian Oil Sales
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to black-market sales of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The funds were intended to finance the Iranian government and its military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization.
Prosecutors say two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used Binance trading accounts to launder the money and funnel it to Iran. Both firms provided on-ramp services converting fiat into crypto and counted Chinese petroleum companies among their clients.
The investigation has identified a larger network of illicit Iranian oil proceeds, with over $1.5 billion in funds routed through 'Entity A,' an unhosted set of interrelated addresses. Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale facilitated much of this flow, using transactions designed to obscure the source and ownership of the funds.