Washington imposes sanctions on Iranian cryptocurrency platform linked to sanctions evasion

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday the imposition of sanctions on the Iranian cryptocurrency platform “Bitbank” and three individuals, accusing them of facilitating the circumvention of economic sanctions against Iran.

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

The statement added that the sanctions also covered “Pishtaz Simorgh,” an e-commerce company that developed the platform’s software, along with Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mehdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heydari, whom the Treasury described as among Zanjani’s top associates in the sanctions-evasion network.

It noted that the platform was used to transfer funds paid to the newly established Iranian “Hormuz Marine Services Organization,” which handles payments for ships’ safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

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

For his part, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new measures send a clear message to entities using digital currencies to finance Tehran, stressing that such transactions are well within the reach of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

He noted that these actions are part of the “Economic Pariah” campaign launched by President Donald Trump’s administration, aimed at cutting off the financing channels that Iran and its networks rely on to evade sanctions.