The United States Treasury has sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges connected to Iran’s financial operations, a first for Washington’s crackdown on digital asset platforms in this context.
In a statement released last Friday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) indicated that these sanctions form part of broader actions against Iranian authorities and networks accused of oppressing their citizens while circumventing international sanctions.
Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, Iran’s interior minister with oversight of the Law Enforcement Forces, was among those hit by the sanctions. “The Treasury will persist in targeting Iranian networks and corrupt elites who profit at the cost of the Iranian populace,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Also sanctioned was Babak Morteza Zanjani, an Iranian entrepreneur infamous for embezzling vast sums from Iran’s national oil firm. The Treasury reported that Zanjani, released from incarceration, was later used by the Iranian government to facilitate and launder funds, thus aiding projects associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
US Targets UK Crypto Exchanges for Iran Ties
These sanctions mark a significant extension to two UK-based cryptocurrency exchanges, Zedcex Exchange Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange Ltd., both linked to Zanjani and alleged to have processed sizable transaction volumes with entities associated with the IRGC. OFAC noted that Zedcex alone has managed over $94 billion in transactions since it started operating in 2022.
“This represents OFAC’s first designation of a digital asset exchange functioning in the Iranian financial sector,” the department asserted.
Bessent further accused Tehran of rerouting oil income towards arms initiatives and militant proxies instead of benefiting its population. He reaffirmed that the US will continue targeting networks that exploit digital assets to evade restrictions and fund illegal activities.
In addition to these crypto-related sanctions, OFAC also barred several high-ranking IRGC leaders and security officials across various provinces, citing proof of live-fire assaults on protestors, forced burials without funerals, and a widespread campaign of intimidation to quell dissent.
Iran’s Central Bank Uses $500 Million in USDt to Bolster Rial
Recently, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic disclosed that Iran’s central bank amassed over $500 million in Tether’s USDt (USDT) during a period of acute economic strife, presumably to prop up the depreciating rial or conduct international trade.
This accumulation commenced as the rial lost around half of its value in under eight months, with Elliptic suggesting that the central bank used USDT on the local exchange Nobitex to acquire rials, mimicking traditional central bank operations in the crypto arena.
