The United States sanctions the cryptocurrency exchange “Bitbank” linked to Babak Zanjani

🔸The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday, the 26th of Shahrivar, sanctioned the cryptocurrency exchange “Bitbank,” its developer company, and three individuals linked to Babak Zanjani, on the allegation of involvement in a network for evading sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

🔸The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says Babak Zanjani used “Bitbank” to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Based on the statement from this ministry, these transfers were carried out between the months of June and July this year.

🔸The company “Pish Taraz Simorgh E-commerce Trading,” the developer of Bitbank software, and Hossein-Ali Daker Hossein, Mohammadmehdi Daker Hossein, and Adil Heidari have also been added to the list of new sanctions. The Treasury Department has identified these individuals as key figures in Babak Zanjani’s cryptocurrency network for evading sanctions.

🔸Steven Mnuchin?; (note: translator keeps original names as per source—no change) Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary, said this action shows that efforts to fund the Islamic Republic through cryptocurrencies are “not beyond OFAC’s reach.”

🔸The U.S. Treasury Department says these sanctions are part of the “economic denial” operation; a plan implemented with the aim of isolating Iran financially and disrupting the routes of income and the networks used by Tehran to evade sanctions.