US sanctions BitBank over alleged Bitcoin transfers

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The US Treasury Department has sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, alleging it helped move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also designated BitBank’s software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani.

Treasury said Zanjani used BitBank to transfer Bitcoin to the IRGC between June and July. The agency also alleged that the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used the exchange since June to transfer payments to the Iranian regime.

Zanjani was previously sanctioned by OFAC over an alleged network of companies used to launder money and evade sanctions on Iran.