- The US Treasury said it had sanctioned cryptocurrency exchanges linked to money laundering and sanctions evasion by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
- It said the sanctions would block illicit digital asset transactions and fund flows worth millions of dollars tied to Sefbit, Avan Tether and Nobitex.
- The Treasury said US-based assets of the sanctioned individuals and companies would be frozen, transactions with US citizens and US companies would be banned, and rewards of up to $15 million would be offered for information that helps dismantle IRGC money-laundering operations.
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The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency exchanges that helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launder money and evade sanctions.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Aug. 7 that it had sanctioned two digital-asset exchanges and the head of a front-company network used to support the Iranian regime, the IRGC and other terrorist groups while covertly accessing the international financial system.
The sanctions target Siavash Keyvanpour, who the Treasury said orchestrated illicit crypto activity through front companies established in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates, as well as his exchange, Sefbit, and the Iran-based exchange Avan Tether.
Sefbit transferred millions of dollars to and from cryptocurrency wallets owned by the IRGC, according to the Treasury. The exchange also sent large amounts to Nobitex, Iran’s biggest exchange, which had already been sanctioned.
