The United States sanctioned an Iranian cryptocurrency operator who was financing the operations of the Revolutionary Guard
The Treasury accuses BitBank, controlled by financier Babak Zanjani, of having transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoins to the Revolutionary Guard through the “insurance” scheme that Tehran imposes on ships crossing the maritime route.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this Thursday sanctions against BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange controlled by financier Babak Zanjani, which it accuses of processing the payments received by vessels in exchange for safe-passage guarantees through the Strait of Hormuz. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says the platform routed hundreds of millions of dollars (USD) in bitcoins to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military arm of the Iranian regime.
According to the Treasury statement, BitBank operated between June and July as the collection mechanism of the Hormuz Safe Maritime Services Authority, the entity Iran presents as maritime insurance for ships transiting the strait, but which Washington describes as a disguised extortion scheme. The agency described the exchange as “a central piece in the regime’s sanctions-evasion infrastructure based on digital assets.”
The measure is part of the “Operation Economic Outcast,” the strategy with which the Treasury seeks to financially isolate Iran and dismantle its commercial, logistics, and transportation networks. Since its launch, the program has targeted the illicit trade in Iranian oil, money-exchange houses, shipping companies, and front companies spread across several countries.
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The Treasury accuses BitBank, controlled by financier Babak Zanjani, of having transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoins to the Revolutionary Guard through the “insurance” scheme that Tehran imposes on ships crossing the maritime route.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this Thursday sanctions against BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange controlled by financier Babak Zanjani, which it accuses of processing the payments received by vessels in exchange for safe-passage guarantees through the Strait of Hormuz. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says the platform routed hundreds of millions of dollars (USD) in bitcoins to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military arm of the Iranian regime.
According to the Treasury statement, BitBank operated between June and July as the collection mechanism of the Hormuz Safe Maritime Services Authority, the entity Iran presents as maritime insurance for ships transiting the strait, but which Washington describes as a disguised extortion scheme. The agency described the exchange as “a central piece in the regime’s sanctions-evasion infrastructure based on digital assets.”
The measure is part of the “Operation Economic Outcast,” the strategy with which the Treasury seeks to financially isolate Iran and dismantle its commercial, logistics, and transportation networks. Since its launch, the program has targeted the illicit trade in Iranian oil, money-exchange houses, shipping companies, and front companies spread across several countries.
$BTC
