The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions the Iranian exchange BitBank: hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin have been transferred to the IRGC

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the Tehran-based cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, stating that the platform transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran. OFAC stated that BitBank is controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, who was designated in January of this year, and that he used the platform to complete transfers between June and July, with this designation made under Executive Order 13902.

The sanctions also cover three executives from BitBank's software developer Pishtaz Simorgh and its parent company Dot One. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that using cryptocurrency to finance the Iranian regime is well within OFAC's jurisdiction. OFAC also mentioned that Hormuz Safe, an entity selling passage security in the Strait of Hormuz, has been receiving payments through BitBank since June; this entity was sanctioned in July. OFAC did not disclose the relevant wallet addresses.