Crypto
$61 Million Stablecoin Forfeiture Targets Sanctioned Iran Oil Sales
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately $61 million in USD stablecoin funds.
The government alleges that the funds trace to black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products laundered through Hong Kong-incorporated firms Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited.
The two firms used trading accounts at a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United Arab Emirates to transfer proceeds into a network that has moved more than $1.5 billion to Iran's government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.