$61M Crypto Seized Over Alleged Iranian Oil Sales Money Laundering

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly derived from sanctioned Iranian crude-oil and petroleum-product sales. The assets are tied to Chinese companies Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, which allegedly used Binance trading accounts to launder the funds.

According to the complaint, more than $1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil-sale proceeds moved through a network of related cryptocurrency addresses. This includes transfers to entities linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange.

The immediate forfeiture action seeks approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency, which is the amount identified for forfeiture in the complaint. The broader transaction claims remain allegations in the government's civil complaint.