NEWS: US sanctions BitBank, Iranian financier’s crypto exchange

By Gavin Finch

THE U.S. has announced sanctions ‌on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange controlled by sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, accusing it of processing payments for ships to transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

Treasury said BitBank had routed ​hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and ​described the exchange as a key component in Iran’s digital assets-based ⁠sanctions-evasion infrastructure. The exchange was used to transfer funds paid to Iran’s newly ​established Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, Treasury said in a statement.

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