US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange Over Alleged Transfers to Revolutionary Guards

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange called BitBank and its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronics. The sanctions target BitBank, its developer, and three associates of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani.

Treasury accused Zanjani of using BitBank between June and July to facilitate the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Bitcoin to Iran's Revolutionary Guards as part of alleged efforts to evade US sanctions.

The department claimed that BitBank was a key component of infrastructure allegedly used by Zanjani to launder funds and transfer money to Iranian state-linked entities. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, 'Today's designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach.'

The three individuals designated as executives involved in Zanjani's digital asset activities are Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari.