US Sanctions BitBank Over Alleged Iran-Linked Cryptocurrency Transfers
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on BitBank, an Iranian digital asset exchange, for allegedly facilitating cryptocurrency-based sanctions evasion.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted BitBank's developer and three associates of Babak Zanjani, a sanctioned Iranian financier. The action expands sanctions pressure on Iran's digital asset sector.
The US Treasury said BitBank helped move Bitcoin tied to Iran's state-linked financial networks. The department also designated the BitBank developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three Zanjani associates: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari.
The Treasury said Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority had used BitBank since June to transfer payments to Iran. OFAC had already designated that authority before the latest action.