US Seeks to Freeze $61M in Crypto Linked to Sanctioned Iranian Oil Sales
US authorities are seeking to seize $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly generated through black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The Department of Justice claims that two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used trading accounts on Binance to launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales.
The action is part of a wider US campaign against Iranian revenue networks, which has seen increased pressure on oil exports, shipping, financial intermediaries, and digital assets. Prosecutors allege that Blessed Trust presented itself as a wealth-management or digital-asset custodial business while providing fiat-to-crypto conversion services for Iran-linked transactions.
The $61 million targeted for forfeiture represents only part of the activity identified by investigators, who have traced a network of interrelated unhosted cryptocurrency addresses receiving and distributing over $1.5 billion in proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales.