Iran Used UK Crypto Exchanges to Evade Sanctions, Moving $1 Billion

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A new report reveals that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has moved around $1 billion using two cryptocurrency exchanges registered in the United Kingdom. The analysis from blockchain firm TRM Labs, detailed by The Washington Post, shows the funds were transferred since 2023 to circumvent international sanctions.

The two platforms, Zedcex and Zedxion, were identified as essentially the same operation under different names. TRM Labs found that transactions linked to the IRGC constituted 56% of the exchanges’ total volume from 2023 to 2025, with the overwhelming majority conducted in Tether’s USDT stablecoin on the Tron network.

The scale of the activity increased rapidly, growing from $24 million in 2023 to $619 million in 2024, before reaching $410 million in 2025. This pattern indicates Iran is progressing from isolated crypto transactions to establishing a dedicated financial infrastructure for sanctions evasion.

“The $1 billion figure over two years demonstrates that digital currencies are becoming a financial channel for Iran’s shadow banking apparatus,” said Miad Maleki, a former US Treasury official focused on Iran sanctions. The IRGC faces extensive US and Western sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program and its financial backing of groups like Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah. Recent reports also suggest Iran is exploring crypto payments for advanced weapon sales.