US Sanctions BitBank for Alleged Role in Bitcoin Payments Linked to Strait of Hormuz
The US Treasury has sanctioned BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly facilitating Bitcoin payments connected to maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) accused BitBank of helping move cryptocurrency-linked funds tied to vessels transiting the strategic choke point in the Middle East.
Treasury said that the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority transferred funds received from Bitcoin payments to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) using BitBank.
The US linked the alleged setup to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, portraying it as part of an IRGC-connected sanctions-evasion architecture.
OFAC also designated BitBank's developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates connected to Zanjani.