Iran-linked | Crypto

The US government sanctioned an individual and two crypto exchanges it said facilitated money laundering for a combined $5 million in digital assets linked to Iran. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against two digital asset exchanges it said that “the Iranian regime relies on to launder billions of dollars” amid military actions between the two countries.  In a Friday notice, OFAC said it had taken measures against crypto exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether for “facilitating illicit cryptocurrency activity and sanctions evasion,” using the proceeds to support Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The government agency also sanctioned Iranian national Siavash Kayvanpour and crypto wallets and companies tied to him, one of which operates Shelbit. “We will continue to increase the economic pressure,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks tha...

“US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the US government ordered the freezing of more than $130 million in cryptocurrency held in wallets linked to Iran on Tuesday, as hostilities ramped up in the Middle East.  Earlier on Tuesday, blockchain investigator Specter pointed to onchain data showing Tether froze four Tron wallets holding $131 million worth of USDt (USDT). Bessent confirmed on X that the wallets were tied to the Central Bank of Iran.  “US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” Bessent said Tuesday. “We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes.” Read more

Binance CEO Richard Teng denied a new WSJ report alleging $850 million in Iran-linked transactions flowed through the exchange to the IRGC. Binance CEO Richard Teng has pushed back against a new Wall Street Journal investigation claiming the exchange processed $850 million in transactions tied to a sanctioned Iranian financier, which eventually flowed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In a Friday post on X, Teng called the reporting “fundamentally inaccurate,” saying that Binance never permitted transactions with sanctioned individuals and that any flagged activity occurred before those individuals were placed under US sanctions. He also claimed Binance had investigated the issues before the Journal contacted the company, and that facts it provided were not included in the story. The Journal’s report, published on Thursday, identified Babak Zanjani, who was re-sanctioned by the US in January, as the central figure in a secret crypto payment network that ran $850 million through Binance accounts ove...

Binance returns to Iran sanctions scrutiny after its $4.3 billion U.S. plea The Justice Department is reportedly probing Iran’s use of Binance to evade sanctions, pulling the world’s largest crypto exchange back into a national security case less than three years after it pleaded guilty in the U.S. and agreed to a resolution worth more […] The post DOJ probes Binance again over Iran-linked crypto flows after $4.3B settlement and CZ pardon appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Binance said an internal review with external counsel found no sanctions violations and that it continues to meet its regulatory obligations under monitoring and oversight. Crypto exchange Binance pushed back against a recent report by Fortune, rejecting allegations that it enabled sanctions-violating transactions tied to Iran and fired compliance investigators who raised concerns. Fortune reported Friday that internal investigators at Binance discovered more than $1 billion in transfers linked to Iranian entities moving through the platform between March 2024 and August 2025. The transactions were said to involve Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin on the Tron blockchain. Citing unidentified sources, the report claimed that at least five investigators, several with law-enforcement backgrounds, were later fired after documenting the activity. The outlet also reported that additional senior compliance staff had departed the company in recent months. Read more

The US Treasury has sanctioned two UK-registered crypto exchanges tied to Iran’s financial system, marking the first time Washington has targeted digital asset platforms. The United States Treasury has sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges linked to Iran’s financial system, marking the first time Washington has directly targeted digital asset platforms as part of its Iran sanctions program. In a statement on Friday, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the sanctions are part of a wider move against Iranian officials and networks accused of violently suppressing people at home while using alternative financial channels to get around international sanctions. Among those sanctioned was Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, Iran’s minister of the interior, who oversees the country’s Law Enforcement Forces. “Treasury will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Read more