The United States has taken a significant step in its campaign against digital-asset infrastructure allegedly used to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by imposing sanctions on the Iranian crypto exchange BitBank. This move, announced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on September 17, is part of a broader effort to disrupt financial channels that support the Iranian government and its military activities.
According to OFAC, the sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani utilized BitBank to facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin transfers to the IRGC between June and July. Additionally, the exchange was used by Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, previously sanctioned for an alleged maritime-payment scheme in the Strait of Hormuz, to transfer funds to the Iranian government since June.
The scope of the sanctions extends beyond BitBank to include Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the software developer behind the exchange, and three individuals connected to Zanjani’s corporate network. These entities were designated under Executive Order 13902, which has been expanded by Treasury to cover Iran’s digital-asset sector.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that crypto-based financing is not beyond OFAC’s reach and warned that parties supporting the Iranian government could also become targets of sanctions. This action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a broader campaign launched by Treasury in August to cut off Iran from financial channels used to evade sanctions and fund the IRGC.
BitBank is the latest Iranian crypto platform to be targeted in this effort, following the sanctions imposed on several other exchanges earlier this year. The accumulating designations reflect Washington’s increasing focus on Iranian crypto venues as part of interconnected financing networks rather than isolated trading businesses.
The sanctions on BitBank also target the developers, executives, and corporate infrastructure that enabled Zanjani’s network to move funds. Pishtaz Simorgh, the software developer for BitBank, is a subsidiary of Dot One Value Creation Group, which was sanctioned in July as part of another action against Zanjani’s commercial network.
TRM Labs, a blockchain-intelligence firm, has been investigating Zanjani’s crypto network and identified a wider ecosystem that includes various companies, payment systems, and digital infrastructure connected to the sanctioned exchanges. This network includes BitBank, Pishtaz Simorgh, and other businesses linked to Zanjani’s sanctions-evasion activities.
The inclusion of BitBank’s software company in the sanctions reflects a broader approach by Treasury to target entities beyond blockchain addresses alone. Corporate ownership, software development, payment relationships, and executive control play a crucial role in connecting entities that may appear separate on-chain.
The sanctions also target key individuals involved in Zanjani’s sanctions-evasion activities, including Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari. These individuals played significant roles in facilitating transactions that ultimately reached the IRGC.
Overall, the sanctions on BitBank and its associated entities demonstrate the US government’s commitment to disrupting illicit financial activities that support the Iranian government and its military operations. By targeting crypto exchanges and their ecosystem, Treasury aims to cut off Iran from international financial channels and prevent the flow of funds to entities like the IRGC.