The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department has accused two Iranian nationals of orchestrating crypto transactions to help Tehran sell oil in opposition to international limitations.
On 16 September named Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand as central figures in a network that moved to Crypto for more than $ 100 million between 2023 and 2025.
According to the agency, the couple trusted several front companies in different areas of law to cover up the trail of money used in the oil-for-crypto-trade in Iran.
The names were made under Executive Order 13224, a legal framework that focuses on persons who help or finance material terrorism-related entities.
OFAC stated that both men offered financial and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), one of Iran’s most sanctioned military branches.
Alivand, described as both an oil broker and a financial facilitator, worked closely with the Al-Qatirji Company based in Syria, an old partner of the IRGC-QF in distributing Iranian oil.
In 2023 he arranged a payment of a front company run by Derakhshan to Al-Qatirji, where crypto-based transactions are directly linked to sanctioned oil sales.
Alivand has also handed over multimillions from Dollars with Tawfiq Muhammad Sa’id al-Law, a Hezbollah-linked money exchange who gave access to digital wallet for funds bound to IRGC-QF operations.
The role of Derakhshan was equally important. He focused and operated companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates to process transactions for Iranian entities under sanction.
With these structures, Tehran could circumvent limitations and at the same time keep financial flows active in the global markets.
John K. Hurley, the secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial information, said:
“Iranian entities rely on shadow bank networks to avoid sanctions and to move millions through the international financial system.”
As a result of the names, both men are now excluded from dealing with American people or institutions. Everyone found facilitating their transactions risks of secondary sanctions.
The move emphasizes how sanctioned states are increasingly turning to crypto to circumvent traditional financial barriers. Iran’s strategy reflects tactics used by Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, where digital assets have become part of the toolkit for bypassing Western punishments.