Crypto
US Sanctions BitBank for Alleged Bitcoin Transfers to Iran's IRGC
The US Treasury has taken action against Iranian crypto exchange BitBank for allegedly helping move hundreds of millions in Bitcoin to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
BitBank processed payments for Iran's Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, the scheme behind the tanker crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Treasury Department designated BitBank as a key part of Iran's digital asset sanctions evasion network and also sanctioned its software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, along with three associates of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani.
Zanjani had already been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for running a network alleged to launder money and help Iran dodge international restrictions.