US Sanctions BitBank Crypto Exchange Over IRGC Funding and Hormuz Payments
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 17
US Sanctions BitBank Crypto Exchange Over IRGC Funding and Hormuz Payments
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 17
Summary
Treasury on Thursday blacklisted Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, saying it has helped funnel money to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and process payments tied to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Since June, BitBank was used to transfer payments received by the previously sanctioned Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority to the Iranian government, according to the Treasury statement.
The sanctions also hit a BitBank software developer and three associates of Babak Zanjani, the regime-linked financier U.S. officials say controls the exchange and has run sanctions-evasion networks for Tehran.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the move shows how digital-asset platforms can give Iran and its central bank access to the international financial system, urging other countries and crypto firms to tighten vigilance.