US Sanctions Crypto Exchange Linked to Iranian Regime's Tehran Tollbooth

A US cryptocurrency exchange owned by Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani has been sanctioned for allegedly processing toll payments from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the form of Bitcoin.

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) said that BitBank, controlled by Mr. Zanjani, routed hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after receiving cryptocurrency payments for the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which runs the so-called Tehran tollbooth.

The US Treasury stated that since August 2022, BitBank's affiliate, Zedcex, has processed more than $94 billion in transactions. Multiple Zedcex and Zedxion-attributed addresses have also processed funds for cryptocurrency wallets linked to the IRGC.