LONDON: The United States announced sanctions on Friday targeting crypto exchanges and shadow banking networks used by Iran to launder billions of dollars.
The announcements were the latest effort by Washington to squeeze Iran’s finances with its “Economic Fury” campaign, which was launched alongside the joint US-Israeli military operation against Tehran.
The Treasury Department designated two digital asset exchanges and an Iranian man running a network of front companies to facilitate “illicit cryptocurrency activity and sanctions evasion.”
In a separate announcement, the department said it had designated 35 entities and individuals linked to Iran’s shadow banking network.
“The Iranian regime’s reliance on digital assets and shadow banking networks is further evidence that Economic Fury is working,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
“We will continue to increase the economic pressure. Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.”
The Treasury said the move against the crypto exchanges came after Iran exploited digital currency exchange platforms to transfer huge volumes of assets.
Iranian actors used a network of front companies to obscure the origin of the funds and "laundered the illicit proceeds for the benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and regime‑connected individuals.”
The statement said the regime relied on digital asset exchanges to launder billions of dollars and maintain covert access to international financial systems.
The second set of sanctions targeted multiple networks enabling Iran’s shadow banking system to move hundreds of millions of dollars, the Treasury said.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the sanctions were in response to the targeting of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.
"The United States will continue to deny the regime the resources it needs to threaten its neighbors and innocent vessels, support terrorism, and advance its nuclear ambitions,” he said.
His department is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financing of the IRGC.
