Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that new sanctions targeting a Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) exchange linked to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani showed that crypto-based efforts to finance the Iranian regime won’t escape Treasury’s reach.
Treasury Targets Zanjani’s Digital Asset Network
“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,” Bessent said in a post on X.
He added that the department will sanction those who support the regime.
The OFAC sanctioned BitBank, a digital asset exchange controlled by Zanjani, along with its developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company.
Three of Zanjani’s associates, Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari, were also sanctioned.
The designation is part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” Treasury’s campaign launched in August to isolate Iran economically and disrupt its global financial, commercial, and logistical networks.
BitBank Moved Money to the IRGC
Treasury said Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A previously sanctioned entity, Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, has used BitBank since June to funnel payments to the Iranian regime.
Treasury’s Broader Push Against Iranian Crypto
In July, the Treasury sanctioned a separate Zanjani-linked network, targeting nine firms and four individuals, including two UK-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion accused of processing more than $94 million tied to the IRGC.
Zanjani was sentenced to death in 2016 for embezzlement, though his sentence was commuted in 2024, and he resurfaced the following year as a backer of Iranian government economic projects.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock/ Maxim Elramsisy
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