US Treasury Targets BitBank Over Alleged Bitcoin Payments Linked to IRGC
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly facilitating Bitcoin payments connected to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The move is part of a broader effort to restrict Iran's access to international financial channels, including digital assets.
According to OFAC, the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used BitBank to transfer funds received from ships passing through the strategic chokepoint to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This alleged setup is tied to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani and is part of a wider system described by Treasury as enabling the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin associated with Zanjani.
The sanctions package also includes BitBank's developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates connected to Zanjani. OFAC claims that these entities are key components of the Iranian regime's digital assets-based sanctions evasion infrastructure.