Bessent Warns Crypto Networks Financing Iran Remain Within OFAC Reach

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warns that cryptocurrency financing for Iran remains within OFAC’s sanctions reach

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that individuals and entities using cryptocurrency to finance Iran’s regime remain subject to U.S. sanctions enforcement, underscoring Washington’s focus on digital assets as part of its campaign against Iranian sanctions evasion.

Bessent made the remarks as the Treasury Department announced sanctions against BitBank, an Iranian digital asset venture controlled by OFAC-designated financier Babak Zanjani. The action was announced on Sept. 17 as part of the administration’s Operation Economic Outcast.

Treasury Targets Iranian Digital Asset Infrastructure

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated BitBank along with its developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Zanjani.

Treasury described the designated entities and individuals as key components of what it characterized as Iran’s digital asset-based sanctions-evasion infrastructure. The department said the action was intended to disrupt financial channels used to support the Iranian regime.

“Today’s designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC’s reach,” Bessent said in the Treasury announcement.

The warning was also highlighted by Cointelegraph in an X post, which emphasized Bessent’s message that cryptocurrency does not place transactions outside the scope of U.S. sanctions enforcement.

BitBank Accused of Processing Bitcoin Payments

The sanctions action comes with specific allegations involving BitBank’s use of digital assets. Treasury said that, as of June, the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used BitBank to transfer payments it received to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Cointelegraph reported that U.S. authorities accused the exchange of processing Bitcoin payments associated with ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury alleged that the activity formed part of a broader network connected to Zanjani that moved hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC.

The U.S. government has increasingly incorporated cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset infrastructure into its sanctions actions against Iran. In June, OFAC designated Nobitex, described by Treasury as Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, along with three other Iranian exchanges.

OFAC Enforcement Extends to Digital Assets

The latest action illustrates the Treasury Department’s approach of applying existing sanctions authorities to cryptocurrency infrastructure rather than treating digital assets as outside traditional financial enforcement.

Treasury has also targeted other networks accused of helping Iran circumvent financial restrictions. On Sept. 14, OFAC designated Russia’s VTB Bank over alleged involvement in Iranian sanctions evasion, including correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks.

The department’s actions have come under Operation Economic Outcast, a broader U.S. campaign targeting Iran and entities accused of supporting its financial networks.

For cryptocurrency businesses, the measures reinforce that transactions involving sanctioned parties can result in OFAC action even when funds move through digital asset platforms rather than conventional banks.

The latest designations were announced Sept. 17, with BitBank, its developer and three individuals added to the U.S. sanctions framework as Treasury continues targeting Iran-linked financial infrastructure.

Cointelegraph

writer: Ethan Collins
Crypto Journalist
Ethan Collins reports on developments across the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. His work covers market movements, protocol updates, regulatory changes, and emerging trends in digital assets.
He focuses on presenting complex topics in a clear and accessible manner for a broad readership.