US Treasury sanctions Iranian digital asset platform for facilitating sanctions evasion

Washington – 17 – 9 (KUNA) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on the Iranian cryptocurrency platform “Bit Bank” and three individuals, accusing them of facilitating the circumvention of economic sanctions imposed on Iran.

In a statement, the U.S. Treasury said that “Bit Bank,” controlled by sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and served as a key component of Iran’s infrastructure for sanctions evasion through digital assets.

The statement added that the sanctions also target “Pishtaz Simorgh,” an e-commerce company that developed the platform’s software, as well as Hussein Ali Zaker Hussein, Mohammad Mehdi Zaker Hussein, and Seyed Adel Heydari, whom the Treasury described as key associates of Zanjani in the sanctions-evasion network.

It noted that the platform was used to transfer funds paid to the newly established “Hormuz Maritime Services Authority” in Iran, which handles ship payments for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Treasury emphasized that the targeted platform is Iranian and under Zanjani’s control, distinguishing it from a Japanese platform bearing the same name.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in the announcement that these new measures send a clear message to entities using digital currencies to fund Tehran, affirming that such transactions are not beyond the reach of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

He added that these actions are part of the “Economic Outlaw” campaign launched by the administration of President Donald Trump, aimed at cutting off the funding channels relied upon by Iran and its networks to circumvent sanctions.

(End) A.M.M. / M.M.J.