U.S. Sanctions $100M Crypto-Facilitated Iranian Oil Network

The U.S. Treasury's OFAC imposed sanctions on a network of Iranian individuals and front companies accused of laundering over $100 million in oil proceeds through cryptocurrency and Asian shell firms. The operation allegedly funded Iran's IRGC-QF and MODAFL military programs.

Hong Kong and UAE-based entities like Alpa Trading served as conduits for the shadow banking network, which OFAC claims exploited crypto's pseudonymous features alongside traditional financial channels. The scheme had ties to Hezbollah financiers and Syria's blacklisted Al-Qatirji Company.

This marks the Biden administration's latest use of financial sanctions to disrupt crypto-enabled sanctions evasion, building on previous actions against Russian and North Korean networks. The MOVE underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency's role in cross-border value transfers.