US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank Over Alleged IRGC Bitcoin Transfers
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, alleging that it facilitated transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The designation was made under Executive Order 13902 and targets not only BitBank but also its software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani.
Treasury alleged that BitBank facilitated Bitcoin transfers worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the IRGC, including payments routed through the Hormuz Safe maritime scheme. As a result, BitBank-related property subject to US jurisdiction is blocked, and foreign financial institutions handling transactions for the exchange could face potential US sanctions.