Iran Laundered Billions Through Chinese Crypto Network
The US Department of Justice has announced that Iran used a Chinese cryptocurrency network to launder $1.5 billion in oil revenues. The Justice Department filed a forfeiture action to seize $61 million in proceeds from the sale of sanctioned Iranian oil.
This is the first detailed public accounting of how Iran has been using China-based cryptocurrency infrastructure to convert sanctioned oil revenues into usable funds outside the US dollar-clearing system, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been systematically closing off since Operation Economic Outcast was declared on August 24, 2026.
The Justice Department's action targeting a $1.5 billion Iran-linked Chinese crypto network is significant because it takes the enforcement campaign into Chinese financial infrastructure through the digital asset channel rather than the traditional banking channel.