US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange Over Hormuz Payments
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange controlled by sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani. The exchange is accused of processing payments for ships to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury said that BitBank had routed hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and described it as a key component in Iran's digital assets-based sanctions-evasion infrastructure.
Zanjani, who has been involved in Iran's sanctions-evasion networks for years, was sentenced to death by Iranian authorities in 2016 for embezzlement. His sentence was commuted in 2024, and the following year he re-emerged as a backer of Iranian government economic projects.
The designation is part of Treasury's 'Operation Economic Outcast' aimed at isolating Iran economically and disrupting its global financial, commercial, and logistical networks.