US Seeks Forfeiture of $61M in Crypto Tied to Black-Market Iranian Oil Sales

The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency. The funds allegedly represent proceeds from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.

The office claims that Iran used a network of cryptocurrency actors in China to launder over $1.5 billion in illicit oil money, intended to benefit the Iranian military and the IRGC. Two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, allegedly laundered proceeds from black-market Iranian oil sales through trading accounts at Binance, a UAE-based cryptocurrency exchange.

The US Attorney's Office notes that a civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation, and that the allegations are not proven until a court awards judgment in favor of the United States. Deputy US Attorney Sean Buckley stated that today's action demonstrates the determination to deprive the Iranian government and its terrorist proxies of illegal money.