US imposes sanctions on Iranian crypto exchange BitBank — Jerusalem Post

The United States has imposed sanctions on the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, which is controlled by sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani. The US Treasury Department said the platform was used to process payments related to the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

US Treasury accusations

As the Jerusalem Post reports, the US agency claims that BitBank transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US Treasury called the exchange a key component of Iran’s sanctions-evasion infrastructure using digital assets.

According to the agency, BitBank was also used to transfer funds paid to Iran’s newly created Hormuz Safe Maritime Services Administration. The sanctions became part of Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at economically isolating Iran and disrupting its international financial, commercial, and logistics networks.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Other sanctions targets

Washington also added Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which developed software for BitBank, to the sanctions list. Restrictions were also imposed on three close associates of Zanjani — Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heydari.